The Greenpoint Film Festival showcases a number of new titles for audiences – and one addition to the 2020 programme was the German nature documentary Der Bär In Mir / Bear Like, from documentary film-maker Roman Droux.
A straightforward Alaskan-shot nature affair, Der Bär In Mir / Bear Like takes Droux with help from nature expert David Bittner into the heart of the landscape, where we discover the wild world of a number of grizzly bears as they face up to the elements and the threat of the impending hibernation challenges of being protective of their environments and the cubs that some of the bears have to rear in this climate.
Much of the joy of watching the film is tapping into the natural anticipation of the unpredictability that this incredible and endangered species are experiencing in the vastness of the American state and you also have a little apprehension knowing that the human participants might just buy it, as a predecessor of Bittner discovered to his mortal cost years earlier.
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The technical skill to bring these moments to the audience is unquestionable – and Droux’s ensemble of film-makers capture perfectly the natural order of things as the bears learn to fend for themselves – and one heartbreaking moment involving one of the cubs left to fend on its’ own by the mother.
If you are fans of the umpteen David Attenborough/BBC documentaries over the years, which have been doing incredibly well recently with things like BLUE PLANET and historically, the likes of LIFE ON EARTH amongst others, then there is plenty of appeal to audiences.
It does represent how far film-making in the nature quarter has evolved and with the advent of digital technology enables more intimate involvement with the animal kingdom. It’s also one of the virtues of the camera that audiences can be taken to a place like Alaska to experience wildlife au naturel without ever having to travel to these understandably perilous terrains.
One for die-hard nature doc lovers – and those who love grizzlies per sé.
