Teddy Bear (1981) User Reviews

Polish Brazil

[bartosz-1 · 8/10 · 13 June 2005]

Like most Polish movies of the Communist era, "Teddy Bear" has several layers of meaning. On the surface it's a comedy of absurdities. But the absurdities make perfect sense in the political context of Poland of the 1970th. The movie shows Communism is its final stages of decay. The system becomes a game with complex and absurd rules. Only people who master these rules can be successful. The film's hero is one of them.

The key to understanding the movie is the dialog between the hero and a film producer about a straw bear--a giant prop for the movie they are making. The producer uses common sense to try to minimize the movie's production costs. The hero explains to him how rational arguments don't apply in the system they are living in. The simpleton film producer is initiated in the ways of the system.

There is a progression from George Orwell's stern an tragic "1984", through Terry Gilliam's tragicomic "Brazil", to the comically absurd "Teddy Bear"--a progression which reflects the various stages and versions of Communism. The Polish version is the most benign and tongue-in-cheek and the film describes it perfectly.

Humor can be a mighty weapon.

[eminkl · 9/10 · 26 October 2019]

Smart, absurd, outrageously funny, brilliantly acting, shockingly critical, and, at least for (and perhaps other) Polish audiences that grew up under socialism, tragic and moving. Unfortunately, much of its brilliance is lost in translation, and it may not make sense for viewers who are unfamiliar with Eastern European history after the Second World War. The general plot is as defined by other reviewers; it serves as a platform for a life tour under Soviet-imposed communism, covering various social strata-from the high-rolling, corrupt Communist Party minister residing atop the Palac Kultury to the inspiring boiler room staff, drinking their lives away while the tenants are freezing. The movie is about a disintegrating world guided to everyday acts of insanity and seeing them. The portrayal is a bit exaggerated, of course, but it's not far from that time's reality. Humor can be a mighty weapon.

it's not just a comedy...

[JaCo2000 · 10/10 · 26 December 2003]

If you lived in Poland during the 80's you will fully enjoy this movie. Every minute of it is making fun of the absurdity of life in those days. Although the scenes used in the movie might seem ridiculous, they are in fact taken straight from life, which makes them even more hilarious. The plot is a vehicle used to display the surroundings. The fact that this movie actually made it through the censorship shows, that although Poland was still in the Soviet block, it already had some degree of freedom of speech and expression in the early 80's right before the marshal law was declared. It's the best comedy I have ever seen and probably ever will see. It's a classic and a must see!

Great movie - a must-see

[Voitcus · 10/10 · 3 November 2004]

If you live in the USA or Western Europe, you probably cannot realize how the life was beyond the Iron Curtain. Here is the answer. This movie is a comedy, so some things are exaggerated, however, not much. This is a story about people living in socialism. You can see a tree of human dependencies, everyone has someone who is under him, and someone, whom he is afraid of. No-one is going to do anything, only when it gives him profits. No-one is going to make a decision, everyone needs instructions to act. This might be not understandable for people from the West, but really is in Poland. The main character is a sport club president. He has lots of people in his hand, but one day his wife becomes a lover of some minister. She's trying to get money from their account in London. It is necessary to him to be the first. But he has his passport destroyed (it was almost impossible to get a new one in those times), so he finds another way to get the money. He will use all people he can to reach his goal.

Not as stupid as it seems

[JoUK · 10/10 · 13 November 2005]

First time I've seen it, I didn't fully get the idea what this film is supposed to be about. Maybe a little bit funny, sometimes silly, but in overall, didn't make sense. At all.

But when you actually think about how life in Poland was at that time, and if you know somebody ( preferably from Poland ) who will guide you, you'll find this film hilarious and love it. It shows, very sarcastically though, how the life in Poland in early 1980s was, and how people were dependent on each other. I don't want to talk about it too much, but the score is 10 without doubts, and if you're looking for a clever foreign comedy, that's the one you should see.

excellent movie!

[michabbs · 10/10 · 5 February 2006]

This is a must-see movie, only of its kind! Every scene is EXTREMELY comic! However, non-Polish people may have problems with understanding it. You cannot fully understand it, if you have seen it only once. Second time is better! And third! And fourth! Etc... I have seen this movie 20 times, or maybe more. And every time I was joking! And every time it was even better... :-) Some of the scenes seem to be completely nonsense, but in fact they are all based on real life in Poland in 1980's. And that's why it is yet more funny! There are a lot of jokes and gags, which seem to be absurd, but they are real-life jokes! You know - it's something like Monty Python in reality. :-)

About movie & jokes in it

[bartpacula · 10 November 1999]

Mis is a very good movie. It's not just funny - It's more than funny. I wish You saw that. The only problem is some of the jokes in that movie are understandable for Polish speaking people only. This movie is strongly placed in the '81 Polish reality.

there are a lot of hidden meanings in Miś

[ab-320 · 10/10 · 3 March 2008]

the thing about Miś as well as other Polish movies of that era is that u have to be Polish to fully understand what the movie is really about. Or u just need to know history of Poland and how socialism looked like. Each scene in the movie illustrates some stupid ideas introduced by socialists in Poland. Take for example the entering scene about that paper houses. There used to be a law in Poland that said that three houses located at a certain distance between each other and close to the road was seen as a build-up area where there were certain speed limits. In the movie,Militia used that law for their own purpose and they could give tickets to drivers even if the houses were made of paper. Of course that paradox wouldn t happen in reality, but for Poles that idea is funny. Miś is a very symbolic movie and it contains a lot of hidden meanings,thus for those who fully understand the matter the movie is the funniest movie ever.

This is the Funniest Polski movie I ever watched.

[johnto1-1 · 10/10 · 7 June 2009]

I have visited Poland and have experienced the atmosphere of Polski culture and humour and I have many friends in Poland and in UK. I struggled to learn very limited polsku vocabulary, barely enough to survive alone in Poland. Fortunatelly, millions of Polaky have been learning English during the past decade. Anyway about "Teddy Bear" (english name), Polsku font is required to type "MÍS" correctly. The movie is funny, very, very, funny, graphically hilarious, all the actors are comic. I laughed my head off all the way through and watched it twice to catch the bits I missed because my eyes were watering. Early on the motorcar that the is designed and manufactured in Poland, I think it's called: "Trápánt" (please excuse if that name is incorrect). Literally explodes to pieces from the sudden gust of exhaled breath when a man sneezes within it. Tak, visually funny and meaningful. I will tell you, the Pols look upon owning 1 of these cars as the last resort to being vehicular mobile. You see them everywhere but nobody will admit to owning one! I wont spoil your fun by explaining any further. Just watch Mís and you'll enjoy it. Don't worry about the language, it's not a barrier, funny is funny, in any language. You will imagine the conversations taking place. Great Movie Top marks.

Funny, light satire of Poland under communism

[runamokprods · 4 October 2011]

Apparently quite beloved in its native Poland, this is a very amusing, sometimes over the top satire of life under the bureaucracy of communism.

The president of a soccer club tries to hold things together when his wife destroys his passport just before he has to leave a trip to play in the UK, so she can beat him there and steal some money they stashed away.

Everyone is playing and coning everyone else, with sometimes unpredictable results.

Not a great film, but a breezy enjoyable one.