Canadian film-maker Kim Nguyen’s Congo-based war drama War
Witch (aka Rebelle, 2012) was pretty successful in the art-house circuit. It
received Oscar nomination for best foreign-language film and won ten Canadian
Screen Awards. Kim Nguyen has already gained the reputation of being an unpredictable
film-maker. His three films before War Witch were entirely different from each
other, in terms of theme and form. His latest and first English language film
Two Lovers and a Bear (2017) looks remarkably gorgeous, yet unclassifiable. It’s
a passionate love story with lot of unpredictable and surrealistic elements. Nguyen’s
$8 million indie drama was filmed in Iqaluit, Capital city of Canadian
territory Nunavut, near the North Pole. Iqaluit is a small, isolated Arctic
community which you can dub it as ‘the end of the world’. The film’s central
theme is about how two star-crossed lovers deal with past trauma and grief. But
director Nguyen shuffles between different tones (includes Herzogian manic
journey & a talking polar bear among other things) in the narrative that it is
as unpredictable as the story’s wintry landscape.
Roman (Dane DeHaan) and Lucy (Tatiana Maslany) are two lost
souls whose ardent love for each other keeps their bodies and souls warm. They
drive through the sparsely populated community in their snowmobiles, catching
fishes and doing some infrastructural jobs. In the evening, Lucy works as a cab
driver. What they do isn’t elaborated much and their traumatic past was hinted
upon. Lucy is wary about what the present holds for her. She is evidently
uneasy when she gets a chance to return back to university and pursue biology.
Lucy has to leave in two weeks. Roman is stubborn in his decision to not return
back to South; to his dirty past. Roman decides their romance is finished. He
wallows in self-pity, drenches his soul in drink to assuage the pain, and when
it fails, he sits on the floor with shot-gun rifle pressed at his jaw. Lucy
attempts to comfort him, but he chases her away. Earlier, while shooting off
few rounds in the frozen street, a polar bear passes by. Roman and the bear
have a friendly chat. Similar kind of conversation unfurls at other points of
the narrative too.
The chat with the bear, of course, isn’t insisted as a mere
hallucination (since a small boy and later Lucy herself sees the bear). It’s the kind
of jokey surrealism and the wisdom which bestowed by the bear reflects Roman’s
innermost feelings. A local sheriff saves Roman from killing himself and he
sends him to a rehabilitation center. To prove her love, Lucy takes the costly
trip to visit Roman in the city; spending her savings for 20 minutes of
physical and emotional intimacy. Soon, the two lovers decide to break out on
their snowmobiles through the daunting white terrain in order to reach the
South. Can the callow love survive the journey of deadly extremes? There are
quite a few unexpected and jarring turns in this later-half. Kim Nguyen’s
dramatic flourishes don’t always pay off -- his inclusion of deadpan humor and
horror-tinged episodes doesn’t blend well -- yet what’s undeniable is the
deeply moving beauty & power of the imagery.
Two Lovers and a Bear is the kind of tonally erratic movie
with a very thin plot-line which is destined to be hated by viewers seeking
light-entertainment. Of course, it’s a very flawed film with a hackneyed
backstories and unfitting surrealism. The possibility of turning this material
into a great film was well far from being realized. Despite its missteps and
pseudo-profundity, Kim Nguyen’s direction provided pretty vibrant and
compelling movie experience. The subtle ecological subtext of Nguyen, breathtaking
cinematography by Nioclas Bolduc, and the magnificent brooding performances of
the two leads are the decisive elements which provides somewhat enjoyably
& immersive viewing experience. Nguyen contrasts the beauty of natural setting
with debris, piled-up high due to man’s settlement. Through the people living
in the small community, the director hints at multi-cultural nature of the
land. In fact Nguyen calls ‘Iqaluit’ as the ‘really concentrated representation
of our world’. At its core, the lovers’ journey exhibits the pursuit for
freedom in an increasingly homogenized world.
However, not all of Nguyen’s artistic impressions provide
favorable results. For example, the bizarre episode in the abandoned military
base breaks off the subtlety of the dramatic-ground. Among the most memorable
of Nicolas Bolduc’s image is the shot of group of caribou frozen solid while
crossing a river. The image itself is so powerful enough to make us draw
parallels between Caribous’ fate and the possible fate of the lovers. Yet,
Nguyen draws out a long, unsubtle conversation scene about Caribous’ destiny. The
observation of the interlaced silence between the lovers proves to be remarkable
than such conversations. The sex scenes were convincingly filmed, strongly
hinting at their deep emotional discomfort. 'Orphan Black' fame Tatiana Maslany
and Dane DeHaan easily forges an emotional connection with us to root for them.
Their sexual spark and chemistry deftly carries some of the film’s heavier
moments.
Trailer
Two Lovers and a Bear (96 minutes) is
the nuanced tale of two emotionally wounded lovers who seek refuge in each
other to escape the haunted past. Although the narrative’s unexpected elements
doesn’t always work to its advantage, it remains as an oddly compelling experience.
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