A searing, psychologically-fueled romance about two characters whose codependence for one and other is fueled from their equally tragic pasts, Kim Nguyen's Two Lovers And A Bear is a singular love story, one that is both tragic yet beautifully-realized, a powerful examination of two lost souls who find some semblance of peace in their connection with one and other. Taking place in the cold, barren climate of the North Pole, Two Lovers and A Bear is the story that takes its time to reveal itself, establishing the tightknight relationship between Roman and Lucy, characters who seem very much in love. While these characters' codependency is noticeable from the very beginning, the film remains opaque as it relates too what exactly these two characters are escaping by working in this desolate location, though it remains clear that each character was born in one way or another, out of tragedy and pain. Two Lovers and A Bear is a film that the viewer has to stick with, as it takes awhile to get going, only showing the emotional distress of both Lucy and Roman early on, capturing their vulnerabilities, insecurities, and emotional scars while simulateneously revealing little else, a tactic that establishes their codependency for one and other early on. The film's emotional beats and characterizations feel almost forced early on due to this lack of context, yet the film remains confident in its storytelling, eventually evolving into a fascinating love story. Without going into too much details here, Lucy and Roman are two characters who are deeply psychologically broken, borderline unstable, each finding their sole sense of love, solice, and purpose in life from one and other. Through impressionistic, surreal moments, Kim Nguyen reveals the inner psyche of these two characters, individuals who effectively have been given a reason to live due to their love for each other, the only thing which seems to relieve them of their psychological distress caused from dark, horrible pasts. Fear is a bedside companion for both these characters, yet it's their love for one and other that helps give each these characters something to live for, each finding some semblance of peace and happiness within each other, as Kim Nguyen's Two Lovers and A Bear finds a very unique way to capture how much strength can be provided to an individual by just feeling loved by another. The artic setting of course is perfect for Kim Nguyen's unique love story, the barren, cold, desolate climate being the perfect environment to illicit the underlying psyche of its two main characters, each of which have struggled with loneliness and despair, the utter-isolation of the artic being a proxy for their psychological states. The finale of Two Lovers and A Bear is one shrouded in tragedy on the surface, yet it's quietly uplifting in a lot of ways due to the hardship and psychosis the viewer has witnessed through much of the film's running time, as we find these two two tortured souls embracing in each others arms as the lights go out, each finding peace, free from their emotional scars and the hardships that plagued them all their lives. Surreal, transfixing, and difficult to experience at times, Kim Nguyen's Two Lovers and A Bear is a singular love story, a film which profoundly captures the paramount importance of love and companionship by examining two deeply tortured souls, individuals whose own deep-brooding pain is only remedied at times by the love they have for one and other.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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