Bear (2011 film)

Last updated

Bear
Bearposter.jpg
Directed by Nash Edgerton
Written by David Michod
Nash Edgerton
Produced byLauren Edwards
John Polson
Starring Nash Edgerton
Teresa Palmer
Warwick Thornton
Cinematography Adam Arkapaw
Edited byNash Edgerton
Music by Ben Lee
Ione Skye
Jack Graddis
Production
companies
Blue-Tongue Films
Peachy Pictures
Fxphd
Release date
  • 21 May 2011 (2011-05-21)(Cannes)
Running time
11 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Bear is a 2011 Australian short black comedy drama film directed by Nash Edgerton and written by David Michod and Nash Edgerton. [1] [2] [3] [4] The film had its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2011. [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Plot

Emelie is greatly annoyed by her significant other Jack. After she leaves to ride her bicycle along a trail, Jack gets into his car with a box and drives to the trail. As Emelie is riding her bike, she is startled by a bear, and accidentally falls off a cliff. Behind the bear, there are colourful birthday decorations. The bear, revealed to be Jack in a bear costume, rushes down the cliff to Emelie's side. After reconciling with the injured Emelie, he jokingly puts the bear mask back on, and is shot by a bear hunter.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

The film earned mainly positive reviews from critics. Ivan Kander of short of the week gave film the positive review said "Edgerton isn’t trying to surprise you—he already pulled off that magic trick once with Spider. Instead, he’s reveling a bit in a sort of misanthropic playground. Our protagonist is a cartoon character of sorts—the Wile E. Coyote of cinematic schadenfreude. He’s always getting himself, and his loved ones, into the darndest, deadliest situations. And, all the while, we can’t help but laugh at his misfortune." [8] David Brook of blue print review gave the film three and a half out of five stars and said "A sequel to Spider, Bear basically replays the gag in a new setting. Predictable of course for this reason, but still funny and well produced." [9] Another critic in his review said that "Reviewing a film this short is going to be fairly similar to reviewing an advert, because and with so little time to build character or a world, it essentially comes down to did you did or did you didn’t like the punch. In this case, I did, it gave me a legitimate ‘ I didn't see that coming’ moment, upon the fact that it was coolly put together and even pulls of a very impressive stunt. Not one I'll remember for the rest of my days for sure, but an amusing distraction, which is exactly what I think it was designed to be." [10]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryRecipientResult
2011 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or - Best Short Film Nash Edgerton Nominated [5]
Leeds International Film Festival Louis le Prince International Short Film Nash Edgerton Won [11]
Strasbourg International Film Festival Golden Octopus for the best international short fantastic film Nash Edgerton Won [12]
2012 Flickerfest International Short Film Festival Best Direction in an Australian Short Film Nash Edgerton Won [13] [14]

The film received an honorable mention in the category "Best narrative short film" at the 12th International Cycling Film Festival 2017.

Notes

Bear is a follow-up of Edgerton's 2007 short film Spider . [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me</i> 1992 film by David Lynch

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is a 1992 psychological horror film directed by David Lynch, and co-written by Lynch and Robert Engels. It serves as a prequel to the television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991), created and produced by Mark Frost and Lynch. It revolves around the investigation into the murder of Teresa Banks and the last seven days in the life of Laura Palmer, a popular high school student in the fictional Washington town of Twin Peaks. Unlike the series, which was an uncanny blend of detective fiction, horror, the supernatural, offbeat humor, and soap opera tropes, Fire Walk with Me has a much darker, less humorous tone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cate Shortland</span> Australian film and television writer and director

Cate Shortland is an Australian director and screenwriter. She received international acclaim for her 2004 romantic drama film Somersault, her 2012 historical drama film Lore, and her 2017 psychological thriller film Berlin Syndrome. She is best known for directing the 2021 superhero film Black Widow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teresa Palmer</span> Australian actress (born 1986)

Teresa Mary Palmer is an Australian actress. A prominent scream queen, she is known for her roles in horror films, as well as projects of other genres in both Australia and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zar Amir Ebrahimi</span> Iranian-French actress (born 1981)

Zahra Amir Ebrahimi, known professionally as Zar Amir Ebrahimi, is an Iranian-French actress, producer and director. She rose to international prominence for her performance as journalist Arezoo Rahimi in the crime thriller Holy Spider (2022), for which she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and Robert Award for Best Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Henshall</span> Australian actor (born 1982)

Daniel Edwin Henshall is an Australian actor. Following his film debut in Snowtown (2011), for which he won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Henshall appeared in films such as The Babadook (2014), Okja (2017), Acute Misfortune (2018), and Catch the Fair One (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arta Dobroshi</span> Kosovar-Albanian actress

Arta Dobroshi is a Kosovo-Albanian actress and producer. Dobroshi is the first Kosovan actress to walk the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival and be nominated for the European Film Award. Dobroshi is a former refugee and now a UN Champion and Goodwill Ambassador.

<i>The Square</i> (2008 film) 2008 Australian film

The Square is a 2008 Australian neo-noir thriller film directed by Nash Edgerton, written by his brother Joel Edgerton and Matthew Dabner, and starring David Roberts and Claire van der Boom. Based upon an original idea by Joel, the project was written and then shelved by the actor because he felt it was not strong enough. It was only made after his director brother Nash read the script and convinced him it could be filmed as a thriller. The film premiered in competition at Sydney Film Festival on 15 June 2008 and after that had a limited release in Australia on 31 July 2008, and was released in North America in 2010 by Apparition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirrah Foulkes</span> Australian actress (born 1981/1982)

Mirrah Foulkes is an Australian director, screenwriter, and film and television actress. She was raised on the Sunshine Coast, in South East Queensland, Australia. She has appeared in films such as Animal Kingdom (2010), Sleeping Beauty (2011), and in the Australian anthology film The Turning (2013).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Michôd</span> Australian film director

David Michôd is an Australian film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for directing the critically acclaimed crime drama Animal Kingdom (2010) and dystopian drama The Rover (2014). He also co-wrote Hesher (2010).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nash Edgerton</span> Australian film director and stuntman (born 1979)

Nash Edgerton is an Australian film director, stuntman and actor, and a principal member of the movie-making collective Blue-Tongue Films.

Claire McCarthy is an Australian screenwriter, director, producer, and visual artist.

Jeffrey McDonald "J. C." Chandor is an American filmmaker, best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films Margin Call (2011), All Is Lost (2013), and A Most Violent Year (2014). His accolades include nominations for the Academy Awards, the Golden Bear and two National Board of Review victories for Best Picture.

The Six Dollar Fifty Man is a short film directed by Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland and written by Sutherland. The film premiered in the Short Film competition of Festival de Cannes in 2009 where it received Special Distinction. The Six Dollar Fifty Man tells the story of Andy, a gutsy 8-year-old boy who is forced to break out of his make-believe superhero world to deal with playground bullies. The title is a play on The Six Million Dollar Man.

<i>Crossbow</i> (film) 2007 Australian film

Crossbow is a 2007 Australian coming-of-age drama film written and directed by David Michôd. The film features Cy Standen, Joel Edgerton, Lisa Chappell and Mirrah Foulkes and had its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival on 9 March 2007. After that, the film competed at a number of film festivals and earned good reviews.

<i>Netherland Dwarf</i> (film) 2008 Australian film

Netherland Dwarf is a 2008 Australian short drama film written and directed by David Michod. The film had its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival on 16 June 2008 and also screened at number of film festivals including Sundance Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival in 2009.

<i>Spider</i> (2007 film) 2007 Australian film

Spider is a 2007 Australian black comedy short film directed by Nash Edgerton and written by David Michôd and Nash Edgerton. The film had its world premiere in competition at the Sydney Film Festival on 17 June 2007. After that the film competed at number of film festivals and was later released theatrically together with Edgerton's feature-film The Square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Lowery (director)</span> American filmmaker

David Lowery is an American filmmaker.

Mark Albiston is a New Zealand film, television and advertising director. He graduated from University of Canterbury in Christchurch in 1992 with a degree in Fine Arts.

<i>Oh Lucy!</i> (2014 film) 2014 Japanese film

Oh Lucy! is a short film directed by Atsuko Hirayanagi. The short film made its world premiere at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival receiving 2nd place in the Cinéfondation. Oh Lucy! has since become Academy Qualified by winning the Best International Short Film Award at the 2015 Flickerfest as well as the Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.

References

  1. "Watch Nash Edgerton's Twisted Short Film BEAR Starring Teresa Palmer" . Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  2. "Unpack Your Sick Sense of Humor for Nash Edgerton's Short Film 'Bear'". Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  3. "COOL VIDEOS: AWESOME SHORT FILM BEAR FROM DIRECTOR NASH EDGERTON AND STARRING TERESA PALMER" . Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  4. "Must Watch: Nash Edgerton's Sundance Short 'Bear' with Teresa Palmer" . Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Edgerton film to compete at Cannes". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  6. "Nash Edgerton's short film Bear selected for competition at Cannes". Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  7. "Nash Edgerton's Short Film 'Bear' to Screen at Cannes". Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  8. "Bear:JACK HAS THE PERFECT BIRTHDAY SURPRISE PLANNED FOR EMELIE. SOMETIMES, THOUGH, PLANS GO HORRIFICALLY WRONG. THE NEW SHORT FILM FROM BLUE TONGUE FILMS & NASH EDGERTON" . Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  9. "CELLULOID SCREAMS SHORTS 2011" . Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  10. "Bear Review" . Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  11. "LIFF25 Award Winners". Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  12. "Palmarès du festival de Strasbourg....fantastique!" . Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  13. "The Palace wins best Australian short film at Flickerfest" . Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  14. "Anthony Maras' The Palace wins Best Aus Short Film at 2012 Flickerfest Festival". Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  15. "BEAR". Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2013.