Written and directed by Ted Sharks, after a traumatic bear encounter leaves his wife mute, a former hunter tracks down a reported beast—only to come face-to-face with a grieving widower in a bear suit. Starring: Hico Oshiro, Yuki Osawa, Arisa Arisugawa, Hiroaki Kono, Rena Mashita and Setsuna Okuyama.
As soon as Bear Entanglement opens, Ted Sharks tinges the air with an offbeat, strange note. Starting as he means to go on, as the film quickly establishes its inscrutable, understated tone. It was a clever choice as that highly restrained, quiet nature allows it to very effectively blend different themes, genres and tones. Particularly in the sense of how it creates this slow-burning dramatic mystery, while bringing through notes of dark comedy and crime, even a touch of thriller at times, and on top of that manages to hold a surprising sweetness. As Bear Entanglement progresses, it develops a touching vein to its story and builds a rather big heart.
The way that Sharks uses the timeline to gradually unravel the various different layers to Bear Entanglement works really well. It complements the pacing and progression and really hits the nail on the head with the moments he chooses to reveal new details. Shark’s writing is strong all throughout, it’s got a great sense of humour, it has a compelling tension and makes some unexpected moves in the ending. It also holds onto a respectful tone in regard to the very real threat of bear attacks which communities in Japan are increasingly facing.
Sharks manages to bring through that issue as an interesting parallel to the complex situation which the characters find themselves in, with lingering threats, sudden changes and a tangled mess of trauma, trust and fear. There’s also the connection to nature, a quintessential theme of Japanese cinema and one which Sharks uses very well in Bear Entanglement. His direction, alongside the cinematography from Daichi Mikasa has a very satisfying natural sharpness. The rural settings add beautifully rich colours, which accent the scenes really well.
Within Shark’s direction there are a lot of excellent angle and framing choices which complement its stillness. Especially with the editing work (also by Sharks), he’s able to add a little movement, personality and different energies to Bear Entanglement without moving away from that overall understated style.
Those choices evoke a lot of different filmmakers and styles of filmmaking, it feels as though the film has a slight Scandi influence with its sense of humour and hints of darkness and coldness. Also being reminiscent of quieter, quirky cinema like Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person or Life for Beginners, with added stoicism.
While its deadpan personality at times can remind more of the Coen brothers or classic American indie filmmaking. Especially when paired with the score from Kazuki Tomita, which often holds unusually bouncy notes, relying on traditional or classic music, crafting a really interesting contrast and leaning into the film’s originality.
A lot of films would take a story like this and turn it into something heightened by scandal, conflict, violence or criminality, but Sharks very intentionally chose to keep Bear Entanglement humble. To let the focus lie with the characters and their emotional journeys, which was an original and effective choice. Particularly because it’s brought to life by the excellent performances from Hico Oshiro, Yuki Osawa and Arisa Arisugawa.
The striking coldness which Yuki Osawa’s Satoshi demonstrates is fascinating, and leaves you wondering whether he’s simply lacking in traditional emotional skills or actually sociopathic. That in itself makes for a compelling journey to watch. While Hico Oshiro gives a layered performance, becoming a balancing act between his outrage, anger, grief, trauma, warmth and sadness. Then Arisa Arisugawa rounds out the trio with the enigmatic Sachi, instilling in her an odd blend of naivety, curiosity and vulnerability with a cryptic edge. They’re a terrific trio to watch enthrallingly find their way through this complicated tale, often stumbling in a very relatable, authentic fashion.
Bear Entanglement is a compelling, original, unexpected and surprisingly touching debut feature from Ted Sharks. We’ve seen plenty of examples of films where a sudden arrival of a person from the past unravels someone’s daily life, but never one quite like this. The style is remarkably understated and earnest, yet it has a quietly deadpan sense of humour, plenty of heart and just the right level of strangeness. It’s shot exceptionally well, the stillness and quiet is impactful and engaging, while the cinematography adds a great dose of colour and elegant sharpness. The writing is excellent, as is the pacing and progression, it’s entertaining, thoughtfully crafted and delightfully unusual.
