It's so refreshing to immerse yourself in a story about a child and an adult that isn't full of stupid pratfalls and smarty-pants retorts, that treats a young person as the sensitive human he is.Bear Cub is a compelling drama with comic overtones about a gay man having suddenly to deal with an encompassing responsibility outside of his job specs, who finds that the tot left on his doorstep will be his for some time. Of course, one can predict much of what happens, but because the lives of the men involved are not treated in a shallow manner, and because director Albaladejo respects both his characters and his audience and immerses us into the lives of a gay subculture called "bears" (that most folks are not familiar with), the narrative becomes of interest despite some familiarity. The actors are memorable, the settings in Madrid typical of most big cities, and the matter-of- fact treatment of some of the less savory aspects of gay night life is commendable. You'll fall in love with the kid just like everybody else! And don't forget to watch the first outtake in the extras--it's hilarious, but one easily understands why it was deleted.

With a title like this you'd be half-expecting live-action Disney or a Jean-Jacques Annaud follow-up on little Youk's life. Instead, we have a film that goes against everything I stand for, proving once again that it ain't what you say but the way that you say it.First, it's that loathsomely predictable (and manipulative) approach to storytelling, the set-'em-up-to-watch-'em-die. Bernardo (David Castillo) is left with his uncle Pedro (Jose Luis Garcia Perez) while his mother Violeta (Elvira Lindo) goes to India on "business." For reels I sat waiting for something to befall her. No plane crash. No CG-enhanced terrorist bombing. Not even a fiery car wreck. What keeps Bernardo and his uncle together is not death, but that other dependable cinematic punisher – drugs! Violeta is imprisoned for smuggling and director Albaladejo wisely spares us the "Midnight Express" torture route and heavy-handed moralizing.Not since Edith Massey's pleas for a queer son in John Water's "Female Trouble" has a cinematic mother so desired a gay offspring. Violeta's constant reassurance of her young son's homosexuality even wobbles Pedro's lascivious leanings.Any one of the films numerous subplot could be expanded into 90 minute, made-for-TV, crisis-of-the-week melodrama. Grandparents ought to have visitation rights, gays make loving parents, dentists with HIV deserve to make a living, HIV is not a death sentence, etc. The true villain (and victim) in the piece is Bernardo's paternal grandmother Teresa (Empar Ferrer). Infectiously despised by Violeta, Bernardo refuses to visit with her and Pedro respects his wishes until she blackmails him with photographic evidence of a nasty "tunnel bunny" tryst.Instead of transcribing yet another culture clash between gays and straights, each character is presented with depth, dimensionality and a revitalizing lack of sentiment.Teresa would want time with her grandson no matter what Pedro's sexuality. Were his condom-strewn, drug-soaked, sexually free-for-all ways centered on heterosexuality, grandma would have still found ways to blackmail.As in any good thirties programmer, crime and/or promiscuous behavior do not pay and the guilty must be punished. We learn that Pedro is HIV positive and thankfully he is allowed to live. It is particularly gratifying to leave a film that manages to transcend all that in lesser hands would be a ten-hankie male weepy. The director's honestly continually keeps the film from caving in under the weight of its own implications.Throw all the topical messages aside, for this is as much a film about lost love as "Citizen Kane." We exit the proceedings locked inside Teresa's gated burial grounds watching as an older Pedro and Bernardo leave her funeral. Death and imprisonment separate Bernardo from the two women in his life. Violeta and Pedro have come to terms with the impact she made on Bernardo's life, and it is only fitting that the last gaze before the final fade belongs to Teresa.

BEAR CUB introduces many to the concept of the non-traditional gay male: the hairy and chunky variety. It also artfully presents real-life situations for the characters. The relationship between a 'bear' uncle and his young nephew is the main focus, but the film also embraces the concept of male to male relationships (sexual and otherwise), HIV, and extended families. It manages to do all this without becoming maudlin or overly busy. The storytelling aspects of BEAR CUB are sharply honed. The performances are also quite good, especially from the central figures. There is, however, a somewhat lethargic feeling to the proceedings as well. I'm not sure if it is the unremarkable scoring and editing, but the film feels every bit it's 100 minutes. The characters are sometimes painfully earnest and the tone tips towards the self-important a bit too often. Perhaps it was reading the 'Director's Message' about the film that predisposed me toward this view. Also, the pacing of the movie feels a bit too 'even keel' - lacking a sense of momentum to carry us through to the final credits. The DVD 'extra scenes' reveal a highly comic scene at the film's core that might have pepped things up a bit. Whether it was excised for length or sexual content is not made clear. For those who think of Smokey and Yogi at the mention of 'bears' this film will be a real eye-opener. For the bear community it is at least a step (or two) forward.

It is good to see a movie neither 'demonize' nor 'victimize' gay people. This is an extraordinary movie about everyday relationships of ordinary person , some of whom happen to be bears.The characters in this film are flawed one way or another. But that's part of the charm: they all have their own problems like everyone else of us have and they are dealing with these problems like we all have to. Unlike many 'gay-themed' movies which focused on 'shock value', this movie is free from bitter or self-pity. It goes back to the basic friendship and family connection which is so brilliantly portrayed.I adore the bubbly attitude the movie holds. When bad things happened,drugs, jail, disease, people in this movie just deal with the bad fortune the simplest way. no mess, no fuss.It's clean and shinny , it's a breathe of fresh air from Europe.