Bear's Kiss (2002)

Genre : Romance, Fantasy, Fiction, Drama.
Language : English, Italian, Spanish, Russian.
Country : Russia, Germany, Sweden, Spain, France, Italy.
Cast : Rebecka Liljeberg, Sergei Bodrov Jr., Joachim Król.
Directed by : Sergei Bodrov
Run Time : 101 min
Release Date : 13th Sept, 2002 (Italy).

Synopsis :

"Bear's Kiss" is a fantasy tale of a lonely circus girl trapped in the cheap and tawdry world of circus, who falls in love with a shape-shifting mysterious bear. The film has also been distributed under the titles - ‘Il Bacio dell'orso’ (Italy), ‘Le baiser de l'ours’ (France), ‘Der Kuss des Bären’ (Germany), ‘El beso del oso’ (Spain), and ‘Medvezhiy Potseluy’ (Russia).

Plot :

The film tells the story of Lola (Rebecka Liljeberg), a lonely and sullen 14-year-old circus girl, whose mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) and stepfather are circus artists. Apart from Groppo the Clown (Joachim Król), who keeps an eye out for her, Lola's only real companion is her bear Misha (Sergei Bodrov Jr.) whom she raised from cub hood.

Later, Carmen confirms Lola's suspicions that she is not her real mother and abandons her. A year goes by. One day, when she discovers that the bear can transform into a young man, a secret romance between the two ensues. Because of his free-spirited nature, Misha cannot abide living in a cage any longer and begins to roam the streets where he rescues Lola from an attacker. The authorities get involved and they are forced to leave the circus.

The two of them, along with the clown, join a street-performing sideshow, a motley crew of misfits who are led by a man named Lou. When her father, Marco (Maurizio Donadoni), is killed in a tragic car accident, the circus caravan travels to Spain, where several gypsy fortune-tellers explain the mysterious art of shape-shifting and the responsibilities it entails. Lou has plans for the bear and wants to wrestle him for money in front of wagering audiences. When the bear humiliates him in the first match, Lou in frenzy whips him, and then goes on a drunken rampage during which he tries to rape Lola. Misha kills Lou, but is captured by the police. A frantic Lola visits the gypsy woman again, but she tells Lola that Misha will now remain a bear forever because he has killed a man!

With the help of Groppo, Lola manages to free Misha and the two lovers drive across Europe back to Misha's home. It looks like Lola will have to sacrifice her one true love because she knows that in his bear-state he yearns for the freedom of the wild. She begs him to leave her. When he finally does, she hesitates but then chases after him in desperation. Suddenly now, two bears are running together through the endless Siberian woods!

Cast :

■ Lola (Rebecka Liljeberg)

■ Misha (Sergei Bodrov Jr.)

■ Groppo, The Clown (Joachim Król)

■ Carmen, Lola’s Mother (Ariadna Gil)

■ Marco, Lola’s Father (Maurizio Donadoni)

■ Lou (Keith Allen)

■ Margarita (Anne Marie Pisani)

■ Anna (Marcela Musso)

■ Ringmaster (Silvio Orlando)

Ratings : IMDB.com = 5.8/10; RottenTomatoes.com = 3.3/5; HKFlix.com = 4/5

[Source : Wikipedia, IMDB, RottenTomatoes, AllMovie, HKFlix]