Change Your Image
thomasyork-41662
Reviews
The Bears and I (1974)
Excellent film for learning about animal husbandry and native land rights
I thought it would just be a feel good Disney film about pet bears, full of hijinks and mishaps and cute animal shots. There was certainly a lot of that, but much more. The animal welfare part reminded me of the real story of Grey Owl who cared for beaver cubs and raised them. He adopted them after killing their mother and afterwards became an advocate for saving the beaver in Canada at a time when their pelts were in high demand. In this film, the man adopts bear cubs and raised them. It's a pro-animal rights film, so I enjoyed it. It raises the ethical issue of why it's wrong to adopt wild animals.
But The Bears and I is more than that. It tackles the thorny issue of native land rights. It is reminiscent of the Werner Herzog movie Where Green Ants Dream, which is about a confrontation of aboriginals and a mining corporation on what the natives deem sacred land. Rather than demonize white men or natives, the movie takes a neutral stance, showing the fundamental difference in values, the culture clash. I was riveted by this story and would highly recommend the film. I'm surprised I'd never heard of it before. It's well worth watching.
Vtorzhenie (2020)
Great special effects; confusing story
The CGI was top-notch, but I didn't get what the story was about. The first movie made some sense: a friendly alien crash lands in Moscow, no one knows what to make of his mysterious ship, he and an Earth girl fall for one another, etc. But this one was all over the place: the girl now has powers (something to do with water), her father is a general doing experiments on her, the alien is back and wants to live in the woods with her, the ex is back and still causing trouble, and now the alien ship wants to kill her, and her father, boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, and security guard are alternately cooperating or fighting one another. The alien ship doesn't want to hurt anyone initially but tries to drown thousands of people? The father appears to be drowned but he isn't? It's a mess. But I enjoyed the alien ship and how it could manipulate water.