Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

pontifikator Directed by Mads Matthiesen, who co-wrote the screenplay with Martin Zandvliet, this is a disturbing movie about a very likable guy, the teddy bear of the title.Dennis is a professional body builder, a huge hulking man who is a gentle giant of 38. He still lives with his mother in her home, and at first I thought she suffered from dementia because of the ultra politeness of Dennis's dealings with her, never arguing, doing whatever she said, sharing the bathroom with her in the mornings. However, it became clear that his mother was a controlling, very subtle monster who kept her son at a pre-school level in their relationship. Dennis is played very well by Kim Kold in what appears to be his first, maybe only movie appearance. Kold is indeed a professional body builder. His mother is played by Elsebeth Steentoft, a professional actress who is incredibly expressive without moving a muscle. Most of the cast have no other movie experience, and Matthiesen did a wonderful job getting a professional quality performance from everyone. The plot of the movie is whether Dennis can separate himself from his mother, and I found my self rooting for him along the way. His disagreements with his mother never have raised voices, are based on her subtle manipulation of his feelings toward her, and require her to keep him as her little boy. She refers occasionally to men being disappointments and to Dennis's father, whom Dennis never knew, and her greatest reproof of Dennis is to tell him that he's like his father. The struggle for control over Dennis's freedom is never out in the open.Dennis's struggle is as subtle as his mother's control, so the drama of his journey is without rage or tears. Just the lonely journey to independence that he should have taken as a boy, made more difficult by decades of manipulation by his mother. Kold does an excellent job showing the internal conflict without emoting. It's a very good movie.I have the movie on a DVD from filmmovement.com, and the DVD contains two short features by Matthiesen. I don't know whether this is one sick dude or he just likes to explore sick relationships. One of the features is "Dennis," a short version of "Teddy Bear" which shows more of the relationship between Dennis and his mother. The other feature is "Cathrine," which explores the relationship between an overweight 16-year-old girl and a 33-year-old man. As in "Dennis" and "Teddy Bear," Cathrine's parents are controlling, but you can't root for a girl to break free with a man that old -- out of the frying pan and into the fire, I fear.

Steve Pulaski "Some day love will find you; break those chains that bind you" - "Separate Ways," Journey.I hope and wish on the brightest star I see tonight that Mads Matthiesen's Teddy Bear finds an audience not only in its home-country of Denmark, but in America, which is so accustomed to its spontaneous, mostly empty cinema that it's ridiculously easy and sickeningly common for small, human-driven pictures like this to go far below the radar. This is a stunning, poignant, masterful work involving immensely undiscovered talent, sensitive writing, smooth directing, and a storyline that is pure and viably sustainable when taken in the format presented.Dennis is a thirty-eight year old bodybuilder, living with his controlling, domineering mother (Elsebeth Steentoft) who has kept him a shy, secluded introvert his entire life. Despite boasting a strong, incredibly toned exterior, his interior paints a feeble man three times smaller than him. He has never had a true relationship, and slogs through his days depressed and uninspired. His morose feelings only heighten upon visiting his uncle's wedding to a lovely Thai woman, and not long after, seeing his nephew so lonely and melancholy in live, encouraging Dennis to travel to Thailand to try and meet some women.He lies and tells his mother that he will be competing in a bodybuilding competition in Germany, and then quickly boards a plane to Thailand. A close friend of his uncle's attempts to set him up with several different girls, but the fact they're all prostitutes unsettles Dennis and he becomes nervous and hasty around all of them. He finally meets a young, genial soul named Toi (Lamaiporn Sangmanee Hougaard), who owns a gym, and he believes he has found the one he'd love to form a relationship with; now if only his mother will approve of it.Dennis is played by former bodybuilder Kim Kold to a bold, graciously welcoming extent. His character greatly reminds me of myself in some ways; he hungers for the attention of the opposite sex, but is unsure of how to balance it and handle it all once obtaining it. He struggles to maintain a consistent conversation, is notably tense and socially inept during the simplest little get-together, and feels gridlocked to long pauses and dialog that lacks confidence. This is a negative affect of the heavy nurturing of his mother, who seems to keep him well-fed and unambitious in not his dreams but his social life.The way writers Matthiesen and Martin Zandvliet handle this delicate material is astonishingly poetic and nuanced. They stray far, far away from shouting matches between Dennis and his mother about "taking care of me" and other mother-son issues, and fights between Dennis and Toi about "growing up." We see from our scenes with them together that Toi knows exactly what the deal is between Dennis and his mom and prefers not to further belittle him for the minor baggage. She'd much rather go the extra mile to make the relationship as a whole work well.Teddy Bear is also photographed with that beautifully melodic foreign film sensitivity that combines minimalist cinematography and gorgeously showcased settings that add fuel to this as a visually compelling picture much less a narratively compelling one. But it's inexcusable to note the majority of the film's success comes from its leading man, Kold, who completely handles this role with the utmost capability and realism. He provides us with one of the finest performances of the year, and with one of the year's most likable protagonists as well.Starring: Kim Kold, Lamaiporn Sangmanee Hougaard, and Elsebeth Steentoft. Directed by: Mads Matthiesen.

Emma Dinkins This was such a venture into the unfamiliar for me, this small window into the life of a gentle giant who happens to be a body builder, living with his mother in Denmark and looking for love. That was a mouth full. I was initially taken aback because I did not expect subtitles, but the film had a good balance of the spoken English versus Danish and Thai, and it shows that around the world the unifying language is English. In all I was glad I did not have to read the whole movie. Dennis (Kim Kold) is so large that when you first take in his entire physique, he is a bit menacing. At one point in the film when he does the muscle flex poses that are part of the body building culture he has this strained smile on his face that is rather creepy. It dawns on me that everyone is faced with some prejudice based on their appearance. A chance encounter with Dennis would make most anyone consider turning to run the other way, but this film shows that he is so affable, that even with all his girth, he is completely dominated by his mother. This film could have easily been entitled Danish Mommy Dearest. The quirkiest part about the relationship between Dennis and his mother Ingrid (Elsebeth Steentoft) is that she is so diminutive that when they interact he hulks over her. As the story progressed and Dennis ventures out to Pattaya Thailand and meets Toi (Lamaiporn Hougaard), we truly get to know who Dennis is. This segment of the film is the reason for the aforementioned English language being a unifier. At home Dennis spoke Danish, he meets Toi who speaks Thai and as they get to know each other they speak English. Who woulda thunk it. I was at no point in the story sure of what recourse Dennis would take. Would he succumb to the wishes of his mother or seek some personal happiness for himself. This film made it quite clear why Dennis was a body builder, and proved if it ain't one thing it's your mother. The story was an unexpected delight, and it shows that no matter what is on the outside or what your background happens to be, that inside everyone is basically the same, no one wants to be alone. I give this charming little story an amber light.

wesleyschooler Teddy Bear highlights and shows the life of a professional body builder in his attempt to find love amidst his massive muscles and odd profession. His search ends up taking him to Thailand where he ends up finding a lovely Thai woman who shares his interest in love. The true problem is not his muscles in his quest for love, but his codependent relationship with his petite mother, who is the real hindrance to finding love. It appears that she wants all his love to herself and won't let him free. She won't let her baby boy "fly", and "Teddy Bear" hasn't learned how to fly, metaphorically speaking. The mother of the body builder has an emotional hold on his life and his heart. Every decision, or it appears every feeling that 'Teddy Bear" has, must be run and checked through his mother. He emotionally cannot escape the grasps of his mother's reigns. Throughout the film he battles his inner beast by trying to escape the grasp of his mother in order to find love by traveling to Thailand and even hiding his girlfriend from his mother in an apartment. In the end, "Teddy Bear" ends up escaping the co-dependent cycle with his mother by moving out of his mother's house and moving in with his girlfriend and finds his love.The true beauty of this film is found in it's theme of masculinity. The film redefines what it means to be a male. We have the image of a massive body builder being ruled and dominated by nothing more than a 90 pound woman. All he desires is love and freedom. In his quest he never uses his muscles or size to break free from the emotional tyranny. It is his heart and mind that breaks free from his mother and flies towards dreams of love. The woman he ends up falling in love with is no bigger than a thimble. The same message is told in his love life. Love has nothing to do with power. It's a beautiful reminder and example to all male's that masculinity has nothing to do with physical prowess. It's a good reminder to all male's that being a true male means using your heart is a passive manner. Love and freedom manifest through thought and emotion, not power and anger. Hopefully people who view this film will redirect their view of masculinity. It has to do with the intellect and matters of the heart.Lastly, and on a cheesy note. I think the film maker was trying to tell a story that we are all capable of finding love regardless of our background, family issues, and current situations. Big or small, trapped or free, love is possible.