The film was selected to be screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.[5]Pathé distributed the film in France on 9 October 2019 and by BIM Distribuzione in Italy on 7 November 2019. It received critical acclaim.
Plot
While resting in a cave, Almerina and Gedeone are caught by an old bear sleeping in the same cave. To cheer the bear up, Gedeone tells the bear the story of the bears' famous invasion of Sicily.
Leoncio and Tonio are in the river, Tonio is being taught how to catch a fish when he is suddenly taken away by the river. This leads Leoncio to enter a depression, and soon his bear clan is starving. Leonzio suggests that Tonio is among the people in Sicily, and such Leoncio leads the bears to Sicily. The bears soon get attacked by the Sicilian army, though it does not take long for them to retreat. Leoncio befriends the human magician.
The film was produced by the French company Prima Linea Productions. It is co-produced with Pathé and France 3 Cinéma in France and Indigo Film and Rai Cinema in Italy. It has a budget of €11 million.[2] It received financial support from Canal+ and the CNC.[6] It received 375,000 euros from the Ile-de-France region's Support Fund for Film and Audiovisual Technical Industries.[7] The project also won the Gan Foundation's Special Prize for 2016.[6]
The visual style is inspired by Buzzati's illustrations but also independent from the original book. The landscapes are inspired by real Mediterranean landscapes with liberties taken in order to create a fairytale-like atmosphere. Mattotti's ambition was to create a timeless visual style so that people who view the film in the future will not be able to see when it was made.[8]
The film was in production in November 2016. In a November 2016 interview, Mattotti expected it to be released in two or three years.[9]
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 16 reviews.[10] Oneofus.net called the movie an "charming experience" and "refreshingly different" giving the adults a strong recommendation to take children see it.[11]
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