Quotation from film 'Bear' advertising XXXIV Polish Film Festival in Gdynia 2009

''Teddy Bear'' is the English title of ''Miś'' , a 1981 Polish

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film directed by

Stanisław Bareja Stanisław Sylwester Bareja (5 December 1929 – 14 June 1987) was a Polish filmmaker. Some of his films (mostly comedies) have reached cult status in Poland. His most famous film is ''Teddy Bear'' (''Miś''), filmed in 1980. His last work was ...

. ''Teddy Bear'', along with '' The Cruise'' ''(Rejs)'', was a reflection of contemporary Polish society using surreal humor to somehow get past the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

at the time. It gained

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

status in its native country. Later, the film was reappraised by critics and it has been regarded as one of the best Polish films ever made.

Plot

Rysiek (

Stanisław Tym Stanisław Tym (born 17 July 1937 in Małkinia Górna, Małkinia) is a Poland, Polish, actor, comedian, journalist and satirist, as well as a film and theatre director and writer. He coproduced and starred in many films of Stanisław Bareja, ...

, who also co-wrote the screenplay), the shrewd manager of a state-sponsored sports club, has to travel to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

before his ex-wife Irena ( Barbara Burska) gets there to collect a large sum of money from their joint savings account. However, getting out of a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

country is never easy, even for a well-connected operator like Rysiek. After his wife destroys Rysiek's hard to get passport he is stranded in Warsaw while she's off to London. The circumstances force him to plot a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

scheme with support of his equally cunning friend. Their plan involves a movie production as well as tracking down a

look-alike A look-alike, double, or doppelgänger is a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another person, excluding cases like twins and other instances of family resemblance. Some look-alikes have been notable individuals in their own right, ...

(also played by Tym) to "borrow" their passport. Hilarity ensues as Bareja gives the audience a guided tour of the corruption, absurd bureaucracy, pervasive bribery and flourishing black market that pervaded socialism in the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

. The titular (teddy) bear is a nickname given to the main character, but also a big straw-bear used in a corruption scheme. Perhaps playing on the well-established Russian Bear trope,

Misha Misha (russian: Миша), also known as Mishka (russian: Мишка) or The Olympic Mishka (russian: Олимпийский Мишка), is the name of the Russian Bear mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games (the XXII Summer Olympics). He wa ...

is the mascot of the 1980 Moscow

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, the same year as the film.

Cast

as Ryszard Ochódzki and Stanisław Paluch * Barbara Burska as Irena Ochódzka *

Krystyna Podleska Krystyna is a Polish variant of name Christine or Christina. It may refer to: People with the name *Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz (born 1936), Polish naval engineer and sailor *Krystyna Janda (born 1952), Polish actress *Krystyna Kuperberg (bo ...

(Christine Paul-Podlasky) as Aleksandra Kozel *

Krzysztof Kowalewski Krzysztof Kowalewski (20 March 1937 – 6 February 2021) was a Polish actor and comedian. Biography Kowalewski was born to a Jewish mother, actress Elżbieta Herszaft-Kowalewska and Polish father, Cyprian Kowalewski, who was a soldier. His fir ...

as Jan Hochwander * Bronisław Pawlik as Stuwała *

Ewa Bem Ewa or EWA may refer to: Places ; Ethiopia * Ewa (woreda) ; Nauru * Ewa District, Nauru ; United States * Eastern Washington, the portion of the state of Washington east of the Cascade Range * ʻEwa Beach, Hawaii, a census-designated place * E ...

as herself * Zofia Czerwińska as Irena Siwna *

Stanisław Mikulski Stanisław Mikulski (1 May 1929 – 27 November 2014) was a Polish theatre, television and film actor, and host of ''Koło Fortuny'' (the Polish version of ''Wheel of Fortune''). Mikulski gained fame for his leading role in the 1967–68 televi ...

as "Captain Ryś" a.k.a. "Wujek Dobra Rada" ("Uncle Good-Advice") *

Wojciech Pokora Wojciech Wacław Pokora (2 October 1934 – 4 February 2018) was a Polish actor. He has made over 40 appearances in film and television. He starred in the 1986–1987 television series ''Zmiennicy''. Selected filmography * Bad Luck (1960) * Hu ...

as Włodarczyk * Eugeniusz Priwieziencew as a militiaman *

Hanna Skarżanka Hannah or Hanna may refer to: People, biblical figures, and fictional characters * Hannah (name), a female given name of Hebrew origin * Hanna (Arabic name), a family and a male given name of Christian Arab origin * Hanna (Irish surname), a fam ...

Sources

External links

* * {{Stanisław Bareja 1980 films Films directed by Stanisław Bareja Films set in Warsaw Films set in Poland 1980s Polish-language films Polish comedy films 1980 comedy films Surrealist films

Plot

Cast

See also

Sources

External links