Being a carer is an incredibly demanding job. Mentally, it requires patience and empathy underlined by the constant pressure of responsibility. When you then include the heavy lifting involved and covering daily tasks for two, it becomes very physically taxing too. Considering that 1 in 7 people balance their duties with another job, the levels of stress would be enough to push many to breaking point. This is where Andy has reached in Hunting Bears.
Written and directed by Jason Ruddy, Hunting Bears is a short film starring Nathaniel Parker and Joel Beckett as brothers Kenny and Andy respectively. After the death of their parents, the task of looking after Kenny is thrusted upon Andy, who is not handling these big changes well. In an attempt to rehabilitate their strained relationship, Andy takes his older sibling on a nostalgic walk in the woods.
The tone from the start, however, implies things will not go smoothly. Heavy breath on a bitterly cold morning parallels the frosty feelings. Snow crunching under feet alongside beautiful orchestral music (composed by Dave Rowntree) builds a tense atmosphere. Accumulated friction is well conveyed by the facial expressions and body language of the actors alone, leaving you to wonder how deep the gulf between them is.
There are a couple of melodramatic moments à la David Lynch that I personally enjoyed but may undercut the intended mood. Whilst particularly interesting to use a prologue in a short film, I think this foreshadows the story a little too heavily, but it does succeed in creating intrigue on how the narrative will develop. Minor criticism aside, Hunting Bears is a thrilling atmospheric drama that left me wondering what’s come in this family’s past, and how it’s gotten so bad between these siblings.