dave s
Roman (Dane DeHaan) is a young man with a troubled past living on Baffin Island, a frozen and wind-swept landscape in Canada's Far North. Lucy (Tatiana Maslany) drives taxi and is in love with Roman, but carries her own demons and plans on leaving the area to attend school and escape her past. And then there is the talking polar bear (Gordon Pinsent), who waxes philosophically and can only be heard by Roman. Two Lovers and a Bear is a visually beautiful film that captures the starkness of the environment. The two leads are solid, their relationship feels real and the ending, in retrospect, seems inevitable. While the story seems to meander aimlessly at times, there's no doubt that that was the intent and, for the most part, it works.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Strengths: For being a film without a large budget, it looks really pretty. The snowy banks and frozen tundra all come across great. You feel like youâ(TM)re there, everything is well shot, and the harrows of the blistering cold is almost enough to be felt. Tatiana Maslany (Lucy) gives a powerful performance and has some solid chemistry with Dane DeHaan (Roman). The voice work of Gordon Pinsent (Bear) is very good. He simply sounds like someone who can give sage advice. The idea behind why Lucyâ(TM)s character sees a stalker who isnâ(TM)t really there gives us an unexpected twist that adds to the film.
Weaknesses: A good chunk of the writing in this movie feels inconsistent. The tone doesnâ(TM)t match up. It feels like a serious story between two lovers in a tough situation, but then has this talking polar bear who is apparently a God. It just doesnâ(TM)t come across like things that belong in the same movie. The characters can also be unlikable early on. Lucy is overly needy and seems way too dependent on her relationship. Even after heâ(TM)s terrible to her, she spends all her money coming to visit him for 20 minutes of sex. Itâ(TM)s not good and not someone worth relating to.
Overall: Thanks to great acting and some surprisingly strong visuals, this is an enjoyable movie. It just doesnâ(TM)t seem to know what it wants to be.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
Full Review
farah r
Every minute of this made no sense.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
troy k
Interesting, but too slow to end up where it ended.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The young arctic couple and their adventure.
It was another film about life in the Arctic. That's wrong! Surely it sets in the Canadian Arctic region, but it was much more than a simple drama. As the story progress, you would come to know the depth of the film. It does not expand, but the characters become stronger. With unexpected twists and turns, the narration heads to the other end.
From the director of 'War Witch' that nominated for the Oscars. What you learn from the title is about three persons, but there's a fourth. The father of one of the lovers. Except in the initial stage, the film is all about them. The young couple in a remote frozen town begins to witness their relationship breaking away because of one of them leaving the town very soon. With a brief breakup, they mend it up and then decides to face any obstacle together. Hence the adventure begins.
The financially struggling couple, plans to overcome the situation by taking the snowmobile to reach their destination. It was not an ordinary road trip you had seen in other films. In a vast deserted land, you never know what might happen any time. Till now it was a casual drama like that happen in anybody's life. But their trip brings to the film a different tone. The adventure with a little thrill. When they are about to catch in an unforeseen blizzard, they take a shelter in an unusual place. After that, everything is about to change for them forever.
There's nothing is the story. It was like someone's real life who are in the relationship and their daily activity. But the adventure changes everything. A perfect atmosphere to give away the secrets. Most of you would have already guessed it, though what it reveal, the way it reveals was good. Makes sense, every doubtful event that occurred before. But it was not designed to keep everything suspenseful for its viewers. So that makes us acceptable the film being what it is.
?If you hurt yourself, you hurt me.?
Indie films are commonly small budget, but it was good enough to enjoy quality. It was not anything about the environmental issue or the Arctic people's struggle. It was just a young lovers tale. Once I have got confused between literal and metaphor, what the film is actually trying to tell. With being a bear on one side and a trouble giving father another, I anticipated some kind of brief flashback to explain the stuffs. But that was never required once it opened up all in a straightforward narration.
This is a beautifully written film. For a small film, they really had some tough time shooting in a tough conditions. The locations were breathtaking. Especially in the second half. In those parts, many scenes were totally unexpected, contrast to the first half you have got used to. That change makes the film very interesting.
Apart the overall film, the end was decent. I don't think everybody would be happy with that. Even I was not sure, I'd liked the film or not after seeing that kind of conclusion. Something is sure that it might not be a perfect cinematic end as we're used to, definitely that's one of the possibilities in real life. If the end would have been compromised to satisfy its viewers, then the result too would have been much better. But I think the unusual and unexpected ending is much better than a cliché, any time.
Both the lead actors, Dane DeHaan and Tatiana Maslany were very good. The characters were not challenging, but the performing in the given tough conditions were. The entire film was about them, where the other characters come only for a very brief. It is worth a watch for them, despite it might not be their career best. They are being a couple on the screen is what striking the most. Because what you had thought about them, against the transformation of their roles in the next half, spices up the story.
I have heard that they had used the real bear. I wondered how they did it being made on a tight budget. Simple and cutely done. Initially I thought it could be a fantasy. But that's the point the story had to hold back for the later part. This is one of those films gone unnoticed. Not every film has to be top notch. Telling the same story in a different atmosphere using its resources could work out sometime. Whatever. The film was not the bad for why it was ignored so far since its release. People not aware of its existence could be the reason and turning it down after seeing low rating. But I think if you are looking for a refresher from the regular cinema, this is the one to go for.
7/10
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This is a fascinating story that is uniquely Canadian.
The two lead characters are raw, heartfelt, and complex. You get a real sense of what life might be like living in the far northern arctic regions of Canada including the troubled lives some of people have there.
I enjoyed this movie as it was unique, mysterious and heart-breaking.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/09/23
Full Review
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