MWFF 2016: The Bear Skin

THE BEAR SKIN / LA PELLE DELL’ORSO
WORLD COMPETITION

DIRECTOR: Marco Segato
COUNTRY: Italy; 86 min.
LANGUAGE: Italian with French subtitles

Based on the book by Matteo Righetto  La pelle dell'orso.


Official Synopses:

"In a village in the Dolomites, a father and his young son have become near strangers, seldom talking to each other. It takes an excursion into the woods to hunt a bear, that erodes the wall of silence."

The spectacular landscape of the Italian Dolomite mountains makes a breathtaking backdrop in this film. The spirit of the mountains, their raggedness, power, and danger outline the main characters of this film and the drama they go through.

The main plot centres on the relationship between a father, who lives in a mountainous village, and his son Domenico, in his early teens. Their relationship is defined by the past and the present. Past circumstances led to Domenico's mother death when he was still a small child, and in the present, there is father's alcohol addiction and tensions between him and other villagers. The father-son relationship is silent, abrupt and cold on the father's side. And though Domenico faces the absence both of his mother and of father's love, the spectators are shown small but revealing of his concern and carrying for his rejecting father. 

One day, a bear known as "The Devil - El Diàol”, named so for the gigantic size, ferocity and aggression, attacks Domenico's uncle barn and kills a cow. Another villager looses a goat. This is when Domenico's father shows his true character, rises to the challenge, and states he will kill the bear. A bet is made, and a local entrepreneur promises a large sum of money if he brings him back the bear's skin.  

For Domenico's father, it is a way to gain the villagers' respect. For Domenico's uncle who hands Domenico a hunting rifle without attempting to dissuade his underage nephew from going alone into the ragged mountains, this represents a bigger assurance to get the promised replacement cow if the bet is won. The only person who acts from pure love for his father without any ulterior motives is Domenico.

This trip becomes for Domenico the rights of passage to become a man. This ritual, common to the indigenous people and those who live close to earth, is completely forgotten in the civilized world of the city dwellers. Yet Domenico's father understands this instinctively, and this is why he does sent his son back to the village when they finally meet.

This is a very powerful film, touching on the depths of the human nature. The mountain shots are spectacular, and the scenes are choreographed visually and played by the actors with the most of skill.