Teddy Bear
Wednesday, March 20, 2013 – 7:30pm
Denmark 2012. Director: Mads Matthiesen
Cast: Kim Kold, Elsebeth Steentoft, Lamaiporn Hougaard, Allan Mogensen, David Winters
At 6’7” and 308 pounds of pure muscle, Dennis (Kim Kold) is a mountain of a man. His imposing physique, however, obscures a sensitive nature and a yearning for love. At 38, Dennis still lives with his domineering mother Ingrid (Elsebeth Steentoft) in a dismal Copenhagen suburb. His awkward attempts at dating are foiled both by his innate shyness and his mom’s overbearing nature. After Dennis’s uncle Bent (Allan Mogenson) marries a Thai woman he met on vacation, Dennis takes his own trip to Pattaya, Thailand, telling Ingrid he’s off to a bodybuilding competition in Germany. The Thai sex-tourism industry horrifies Dennis, but he hits it off with Toi (Lamaiporn Hougaard), a woman who owns a local gym. But when Dennis attempts to bring Toi to Denmark, he encounters fierce opposition from Ingrid. Teddy Bear was shot documentary-style with a hand-held camera, using a mix of amateur and professional actors; the unadorned observational style richly yields both comedy and pathos. “Watching Dennis’s quiet revolution gather steam transfixes us in this subtle, moving story about integrity, the inherent strength in gentleness, and what it means to be dutiful to oneself” (Sundance F.F.). Colour, Blu-ray Disc, in Danish, English and Thai with English subtitles. 93 mins.
Post-screening discussion with Janet Oakes, M.A., BC-ATP, FIPA, a psychoanalyst in private practice in Vancouver. She is on the executive of the Western Branch of the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society and teaches in seminars presented by the Branch. Janet is an artist and has an ongoing interest in applied psychoanalysis relating to social conditions, literature, arts, and culture.
Moderated by Dr. Harry Karlinsky, Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia.
Co-sponsored by the Western Branch of the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society.