I racconti dell'orso

Filmmakers Olmo Amato and Samuele Sestieri had one aim in mind: make a film together during a 14-day journey through Finland and Norway. They not only did the directing, sound and camerawork, they also played the leading roles. There was a script, but they adapted it to specific encounters and places. The Bear Tales is the more-than-intriguing result.
The immeasurable, unspoilt nature of Scandinavia in summer is the backdrop for what is occasionally abstract and then a moving allegory about the meaning of life. A monk robot - a kind of bony C-3PO in a brown habit - chases a little red man through expanses of woods, deserted cities and barren plains. Birds tweet, mosquitoes buzz. It's only at the top of a magic mountain that the two get closer, exhausted after the pursuit. They join forces to save a damaged teddy bear and hence fill the void surrounding them. Will Mother Nature hear their prayers and save the little bear? (International Film Festival Rotterdam)