Bear’s Kiss
熊之戀人

Synopsis

She was 14. She flew on a trapeze and danced with a bear.

He was a bear … a shape shifter who could move between two worlds.

“Do you want me or do you want your bear?” he asked.

“I want you both” she answered.

For a while they were happy together.

Until he killed a man to protect her.

Director’s Comment

Full moon...Siberian forest. A shaman dances near the fire. I don't know who he is...a man or an animal. "My father was a bear", the shaman sings in his deep throated voice. "I'm a shape-shifter".

I was born in Siberia. I have been thinking about this story for many years. Last summer I was on the road with my bears and actors, traveling across Europe from Russia to Spain. At the end of the road I didn't know if the story was real or not.

"That's not a big deal", an Andulusian Gypsy told me, "We're used to such things. I loved a man once. He was a monkey!" And I remembered the shaman's song.

Don't be afraid to believe.

Release date: September 23, 2004

Category: IIB

Duration: 92 mins

Cinemas: Broadway Cinematheque

Website: http://www.gaga.ne.jp/bearskiss