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Amos Lassen wrote on 02/10/2011:

“BEAR CUB (CACHORRO)”
Love Makes a Family
Amos Lassen
A delightful film from TLA Releasing “Bear Cub (Cachorro)’ tells the story of Pedro, a gay male who has an active social life and a very large circle of friends. He agrees to take care of his nephew, Bernardo, for a coupler pf weeks and when it appears that this may become a permanent arrangement, he turns to his friends for guidance as he and Bernardo begin to build a life together. This is an amusing and at the same time touching film which reinterprets the idea of family.
Pedro is an attractive gay dentist who leads an active life style in Madrid who had no idea what he was in for when he agreed to take care of his nephew while the child’s mother travels to the rest of Europe with her latest boyfriend. When “mom” becomes detained in India, Pedro has to assume the role of caretaker for Bernardo (who is a remarkable young actor). To make matters even more interesting, the boy’s grandmother starts a custody battle over the child and what results s one of the most refreshing movies I have seen in a long time.
“Bear Cub” touches on a lot of issues and even though it doesn’t wrap everything up, it gives a lot of food for thought. The issues include HIV, family, gay life, love and sexuality and will make you thin about relationships and love as well as how we live from day to day. Sex is also a big issue I the movie and we see how it fits into our lives and exactly what it means. The movie is so human that it Can be watched over and over and every time there seems to be something new. It is uncompromising and well acted and a great combination of drama and comedy. Compared to other movies on the same topic (”About A Boy”,” Three Men and a Baby”), it stands out by not compromising the social life of Pedro, especially with the very explicit and controversial opening scenes (which were edited for American audiences). It is also fun to see a movie about bears, something we don’t see a lot of in the movies. What impressed me the most about “Bear Cub” is its honesty in dealing with the gay lifestyle. It perfectly depicts a gay man having a social and a sex life without value judgments.
It is a movie that causes you to laugh and to cry and is probably the first motive and real non porn bear movie I have seen. It is tender and paternal and shows the bear scene of Madrid and thereby allows us to understand the bear culture a bit more. All in all this is one you do not want to miss.
The actors are Handsome, the music is good, and the director deals with real issues with honesty as if they are the usual things in life (bathroom cruising, bath houses, dark rooms and back rooms). He shows clearly what we do in bed and does so naturally.
The movie is really about relationships and feelings---learning to be with one another, the world of raising children. The message is that first and foremost it is love and not sex that guides our lives. It is a wonderful surprise of a movie and it is a movie that you can relate to.

TimBrough.com wrote on 03/29/2006:

The real important aspect about "Bear Cub" is not just that it is a decent movie that combines emotional aspects and bonding as important factors of family life. The real breakthrough is that the gay characters are not the usual stereotypes that films have been foisting on us for the last 20 years.

The man are all good looking but average. The "bear" subculture that subscribes to the idea that gay men don't have to be gym-bunnies or "fabulous" in order to gain acceptance is prominent in "Bear Cub," much to the film's credit. The gay men aren't comedic foils that mince around and camp to the delight of the straight (and often female) lead. A disco or bar is not the central meeting place for the characters. AIDS is a prominent feature in the plot, but it isn't a tragedy. And while sex and drugs are also prominent, it is also NOT an major focus in anybody's existence here.

In other words, as a gay movie, "Bear Cub" does almost nothing that other gay-themed movies of recent vintage would expect you to prepare yourself for. The characters advance along the story-line without flaming theatrics. Even the villainess in the film has dimension, even if she is a misguided old bat. In fact, the only thing that kept me from giving this bitter-sweet and lightly funny movie a fifth star is that I thought the ending to be a bit soft and unresolved. But along with the recently released "Brokeback Mountain," "Bear Cub" at last presents gay folk (and woofy bears!) in a manner of men that live realistic, everyday lives.

Ben wrote on 05/14/2005:

The unrated director's cut of "Bear Cub" restores two sex scenes apparently deemed too strong for American audiences when it was released in the theaters. But even without those scenes (they just make it nicer and sexier,) the film is a touching, warm and humorous film worth watching more than once. And it gives bears a front-and-center position in movies, something we just don't see. Added to that is a story of gay parenting that deals honestly with the balance that needs to be achieved between one's private and family lives. This film does it with feeling and humor. And it is realistic also. The intrusion of the grandmother is just another depiction of straight society saying that gays do not make fit parents. There are several issues at play in this film, but ultimately it is a satisfying and enjoyable film that should warm the hearts of those who care about positive depictions of gays - bears or otherwise.

Babu wrote on 03/06/2005:

Lets hope this version has subtitles in all of its features. I finally got spanish DVD of it and had english and spanish subtitles only in the main movie. Though I'm brazilian (and we here speak portuguese) its not easy for me, at all, to understand their iberian spanish. And in the extras we have an interview with almost every actor, very funny deleted scenes, with no subtitle.