User reviews

Teddy Bear (2012)

And you thought you were shy? This guy, who is all about power and presence, a massive bodybuilder, is a social misfit afraid of his own shadow. And I believe it. I almost felt sorry for the actor, forgetting the difference.

I suppose the story from the outside is overly simple--an aging bodybuilder is looking for love, but his overbearing (and tiny) mother doesn't want him to move out and move on. So he is kind and kinder and stays and yet he has some kind of need to have a girlfriend that won't just go away. With the secret help of an uncle, he makes a trip to Thailand. And here he meets girls, but he can hardly speak, and nothing comes of it. The second day there he finds a weightlifting gym and asks if he can work out. And all of a sudden he is at ease and himself.

And things go from there, not in any unexpected way. All of this is told with such touching restraint it makes you really involved. The leading man, Kim Kold, obviously a bodybuilder (like Schwarzenegger, you can't fake that stuff), is really good at playing an exceedingly quiet guy, but not a stupid one. He is going to be in a Hollywood movie ("Fast and Furious 6") this year, and who knows whether it'll be a first step or a last one. It seems like, just because of his Hulk shaped body, he has a future at least as a character actor.

The movie, all told, might lack some kind of storytelling nuance. It is what it is on purpose, but so much so it sometimes floats a little. This kind of Indie style often works just the way life does--things are interesting, watching some new people do some new things in an undistracted way is going to be watchable. And this does that, and well. It's because of its sincerity that you have some kind of emotional connection. But there is no magic, either, the way some films use small casts and simple touching plots and also find a way to lift the experience into something rare. (I'm thinking here of a similar movie about an aging wrestler in South America, "Bad Day to Go Fishing," which I highly recommend.)

I don't know the Danish film world much except that we, in the U.S., seem to get the cream of the crop and so the few I've seen have all been exceptional. I'd give this a look.

This film tells the story of a respected and famous body building, who lives under the shadow of his judgemental mother. He travels to Thailand on the advice of his uncle, and finds a whole different world outside his home.

"Teddy Bear" looks cute on the surface, but addresses a lot of underlying psychological and ethical issues in the plot. The mother holds a strong stance against sex tourism, which is understandable, and a viewpoint that has to be portrayed in a film like this. While the bodybuilder goes to Thailand, he still holds respect towards women which is a welcoming subplot. The way he breaks through cultural barriers, and the shackles imposed on him by his family is also well explored and well presented. I enjoyed watching this film.

I really enjoyed this movie about a gentle giant who travels to Thailand and falls in love. The main character reminds me of myself, I too like bodybuilding and I plan to visit Pattaya in Thailand and hopefully find love with a normal girl who isn't looking for business only. This film was heart touching, a very nice story. There were some interesting characters as well as nice scenery. I recommend this film to anyone who's a fan of foreign cinema like I am. I'm now searching for some similar films which are about love and travel, preferably foreign, I'm a fan of local films too but foreign are my favourite. I really enjoyed this one. I rate it 7 out of 10.

It's a "feeling" movie. It's about a mood, a feeling. Inside one person, searching for it in another person. The feeling is gentleness. And the pervasive powerful, insistent sense of it coming out of such a person, is just... amazing.

It's totally a visual movie. The content and plot are nothing to be concerned with, they are Normal.

Watch how Abnormal this guy is. Watch how he persistently avoids the Normal and finds another person like himself. (She's actually quite a bit more normal than he is)

He is a Mountain, a Monument of abnormality, dedicated to being gentle in a world that is almost completely unable to let me (or any of us, for the matter) be gentle.

And it's Not just his nature, it's also a dedication. And somehow he Uses that bodybuilding to reinforce his gentleness. He Moves gently.

It's quite a performance. I have no idea who he is, or what he actually is like, nor do I care. But here, he and the director have built... and elephant of a person. Huge, powerful, and gentle.

Joy to watch.

This was such a venture into the unfamiliar for me, this small window into the life of a gentle giant who happens to be a body builder, living with his mother in Denmark and looking for love. That was a mouth full. I was initially taken aback because I did not expect subtitles, but the film had a good balance of the spoken English versus Danish and Thai, and it shows that around the world the unifying language is English. In all I was glad I did not have to read the whole movie. Dennis (Kim Kold) is so large that when you first take in his entire physique, he is a bit menacing. At one point in the film when he does the muscle flex poses that are part of the body building culture he has this strained smile on his face that is rather creepy. It dawns on me that everyone is faced with some prejudice based on their appearance. A chance encounter with Dennis would make most anyone consider turning to run the other way, but this film shows that he is so affable, that even with all his girth, he is completely dominated by his mother. This film could have easily been entitled Danish Mommy Dearest. The quirkiest part about the relationship between Dennis and his mother Ingrid (Elsebeth Steentoft) is that she is so diminutive that when they interact he hulks over her. As the story progressed and Dennis ventures out to Pattaya Thailand and meets Toi (Lamaiporn Hougaard), we truly get to know who Dennis is. This segment of the film is the reason for the aforementioned English language being a unifier. At home Dennis spoke Danish, he meets Toi who speaks Thai and as they get to know each other they speak English. Who woulda thunk it. I was at no point in the story sure of what recourse Dennis would take. Would he succumb to the wishes of his mother or seek some personal happiness for himself. This film made it quite clear why Dennis was a body builder, and proved if it ain't one thing it's your mother. The story was an unexpected delight, and it shows that no matter what is on the outside or what your background happens to be, that inside everyone is basically the same, no one wants to be alone. I give this charming little story an amber light.

"Some day love will find you; break those chains that bind you" - "Separate Ways," Journey.

I hope and wish on the brightest star I see tonight that Mads Matthiesen's Teddy Bear finds an audience not only in its home-country of Denmark, but in America, which is so accustomed to its spontaneous, mostly empty cinema that it's ridiculously easy and sickeningly common for small, human-driven pictures like this to go far below the radar. This is a stunning, poignant, masterful work involving immensely undiscovered talent, sensitive writing, smooth directing, and a storyline that is pure and viably sustainable when taken in the format presented.

Dennis is a thirty-eight year old bodybuilder, living with his controlling, domineering mother (Elsebeth Steentoft) who has kept him a shy, secluded introvert his entire life. Despite boasting a strong, incredibly toned exterior, his interior paints a feeble man three times smaller than him. He has never had a true relationship, and slogs through his days depressed and uninspired. His morose feelings only heighten upon visiting his uncle's wedding to a lovely Thai woman, and not long after, seeing his nephew so lonely and melancholy in live, encouraging Dennis to travel to Thailand to try and meet some women.

He lies and tells his mother that he will be competing in a bodybuilding competition in Germany, and then quickly boards a plane to Thailand. A close friend of his uncle's attempts to set him up with several different girls, but the fact they're all prostitutes unsettles Dennis and he becomes nervous and hasty around all of them. He finally meets a young, genial soul named Toi (Lamaiporn Sangmanee Hougaard), who owns a gym, and he believes he has found the one he'd love to form a relationship with; now if only his mother will approve of it.

Dennis is played by former bodybuilder Kim Kold to a bold, graciously welcoming extent. His character greatly reminds me of myself in some ways; he hungers for the attention of the opposite sex, but is unsure of how to balance it and handle it all once obtaining it. He struggles to maintain a consistent conversation, is notably tense and socially inept during the simplest little get-together, and feels gridlocked to long pauses and dialog that lacks confidence. This is a negative affect of the heavy nurturing of his mother, who seems to keep him well-fed and unambitious in not his dreams but his social life.

The way writers Matthiesen and Martin Zandvliet handle this delicate material is astonishingly poetic and nuanced. They stray far, far away from shouting matches between Dennis and his mother about "taking care of me" and other mother-son issues, and fights between Dennis and Toi about "growing up." We see from our scenes with them together that Toi knows exactly what the deal is between Dennis and his mom and prefers not to further belittle him for the minor baggage. She'd much rather go the extra mile to make the relationship as a whole work well.

Teddy Bear is also photographed with that beautifully melodic foreign film sensitivity that combines minimalist cinematography and gorgeously showcased settings that add fuel to this as a visually compelling picture much less a narratively compelling one. But it's inexcusable to note the majority of the film's success comes from its leading man, Kold, who completely handles this role with the utmost capability and realism. He provides us with one of the finest performances of the year, and with one of the year's most likable protagonists as well.

Starring: Kim Kold, Lamaiporn Sangmanee Hougaard, and Elsebeth Steentoft. Directed by: Mads Matthiesen.

I've been desiring to see this film for months. When I finally had the opportunity I was fully prepared to be swooned by a beautiful story of a lonely man just looking for love.

I loved the reversal of character attributes between Dennis and his mother. The movie was set up for the transition of Dennis from his solitary shell to become a man of his own choosing.

Technically this does happen as can be seen from the previews, but the way it happened was very much lack-luster in my opinion. I wanted to be moved emotionally, I wanted to get involved in the storyline.

But in the end I wound up watching a very decidedly awkward relationship unfold between all the characters without any real power. The acting was very fitting, the plot was elegant, but there was no life, no desire, no emotion.

This movie was more like the firework you've been saving for the time your parents aren't around only to find that it fizzles and pops rather than bangs.

Love how my previous entry was also about a movie, specifically those little nasty ones in the romance genre. Teddy Bear. I don't know whats up with me but I cannot rate a movie 2 3 or 4 stars. Either I love it or hate it. I think part of it is because I have the nasty tendency of seeing myself in everything. If I see myself and the message resonates... the other nasty tendency to activate my nasolacrimal ducts. This one didn't jerk my tears, it just sort of gave me hope. Mired in Dennis's brutal awkwardness, I couldn't help but cheer him on when the only thing he really wanted from Toi was to save him from the gut wrenching loneliness that was still there as he was being accosted by Thailand's finest. IDK if it was his upbringing or my own idealistic tendencies, but Dennis's refusal to sex even if Toi was kinda really cute in that thing signifies to me even more that just sex, the casual variety of intimacy, was something that Dennis has experienced and understands the fleeting nature of. Description said unexpected lesson about life and love. I think Dennis was taught what love meant the moment he stepped into that gym. Loving something or someone is being able to be or do anywhere and enjoy it just as much as you would at home. Love is the universal language that needs not for words to fail to have its place. Love brings together no matter where, no matter how and no matter who. I think this taught me and the viewer what love isn't. Love is not the absence of loneliness but rather the embracing of loneliness through companionship. Dennis's mother feels as if he does not love her because he leaves on his own whim. Dennis only leaves because he is lonely. Lonely because the companionship of a mother waits only to be replaced by matrimony. Void of matrimonial substance, Ingrid clings to her son. Love is not conditional upon loyalty to this companionship however. Love can transcend time and space. Love rends the heart while its claws lay hundreds of miles away, only to be mended with the redolent whispers of lovers, nowadays voiced over internet protocol. Love is in the letters of bygone days between the stranded and the shipwrecked.

Well, first of all the movie's Danish title is "10 Timer Til Paradis", which literally translates as "10 Hours To Paradise", so the title "Teddy Bear" really is confusing and unbecoming of the movie.

Regardless, I sat down to watch this movie in 2019, hadn't actually heard about it prior to now, for some reason. But I read the movie's synopsis, and I must admit that I was intrigued and actually looking forward to seeing this movie. And I must say that it definitely had potential. 'Had' is the keyword here, because the potential wasn't properly utilized by director Mads Matthiesen.

The story really did put up something that would have been a grand storytelling, but it eventually fell short and ended up being as just another bland movie. Unfortunately. It felt like everything that writers Mads Matthiesen and Martin Zandvliet lined up was failed to be brought to a fulfilling fruition by director Mads Matthiesen, and that was a shame.

The movie rather quickly settled into a monotonous pacing as the bodybuilding lead character came to Thailand. And that was weird to me, because it was here that the movie and storyline should have really kicked into a higher gear, as this was the focal point that sat the whole atmosphere of the movie.

As for the acting in the movie, well I wasn't impressed with the lead cast. Kim Kold, playing Dennis, was overly monotonous in his dialogue and his demeanor on the screen, which translated poorly as something that was enjoyable. Lamaiporn Sangmanee Hougaard, playing Toi, fared somewhat better, but it was clear that she was inexperienced. The real talent here in the movie was Elsebeth Steentoft, playing Ingrid - Dennis's mom. She performed so well, and really brought a lot of enjoyment to the movie, but she wasn't the movie's focus.

"10 Timer Til Paradis" had so much potential and so many chances to be brilliant, but it just never happened. And I found that the movie as an overall experience was just very monotonous, bland and mediocre. Hence, I am rating it five out of ten stars.

The Teddy Bear here is a thirty eight year old bodybuilder, Dennis, who lives at home with his domineering mother, Ingrid, in a very disturbing relationship. From the start, it is apparent that his mom has a few screws loose. The opening scene shows Dennis at a restaurant with a woman on a date. He is completely out of sorts and shows the emotional level of a high school boy at the senior prom. Back at home, he tells mommy dearest that he has been to a movie with his friend, Lars. Later on at a dinner, he meets someone with a wife from Thailand, who inspires him to travel there to find a mate. He tells his mother that he is going to Germany instead. In Pataya, he is swarmed by prostitutes and ends up in a very awkward situation with one of them. He meets Toi, and they manage to make a connection. Eventually, mom finds out and the fireworks begin. Kim Kold as Dennis and Elsebeth Steentoft as Ingrid are outstanding in this disturbing and deeply moving look at human nature from Denmark; a definite candidate for best foreign language film at the Oscars.

Kim Kold bats it out of the park again as the bodybuilding mummy's boy who were all rooting for - the mighty Dennis - as big and strong as he is - he is just a sensitive soul wanting to be loved.

After a slew of disastrous dates with the girls around town who treat him like a freak show, his uncle and his marriage to his Thai wife puts the seed of an idea into finding someone abroad - which leads Dennis to go on holiday in Thailand in search of a kindered spirit.

Kim Kold was born to play 'Dennis' who became famous from the short film on You Tube of the same name and the same character. It peters out slightly at the end but the film is a cracker for the most part. A well deserved 9/10.

Based on filmmaker Mads Matthiessen's short film Dennis of five years ago, Teddy Bear (oddly titled 10 timer til paradis [10 Hours to Paradise], in it's native Danish) is the delicate character study of Dennis (Kim Kold), a 38-year-old, 400 pound, 1.9m tall, trophy-winning body builder. A domineering presence, he is the biggest manchild ever encapsulated on screen. Softly spoken, with no friends other than his sparring gym buddies, Dennis still lives with his diminutive mother Ingrid (Elsebeth Steentoft – In A Better World, Italian for Beginners). With a distinct lack of confidence, he is trying to find some meaning of life behind the muscle. When his somewhat Freudian relationship becomes overbearing, and inspired by his uncle (Allan Mogensen), Dennis travels to Thailand to purchase the love of his life. Basting in the monsoon heat, he puts on his tailor-made threads and parades the city bars and restaurants looking for a lady of the night. The girls are clearly interested in the hunk, but he is afraid of commitment and sexual contact. He returns to his sanctuary, the gym, and stumbles upon a friendly Thai widow (Lamaiporn Hougaard) who may just be the woman he has been dreaming of. But what would Mother Ingrid do? Whilst the name Teddy Bear may sound like a dab-hand at tired irony, there's something awfully mawkish and non-Scandinavian about this Danish drama. Written by Matthiessen and collaborator Martin Zandvilet, the lack of comic relief, dark subtext or substantial plotting means that the drama feels rather meat headed and predictable. Kim Kold's portrayal of the reticent Dennis is initially impressive but, when the film needs some emotional depth, the beefcake's acting chops are tested and tarnished. A treacly character piece, it's the absolute antithesis of the 1973 Arnold Schwarzenegger- centric documentary Pumping Iron. Both movies fill the screen with impressive muscle, but Teddy Bear weighs in without the heart, passion or balls it needs to carry it's preposterousness.

Unfortunately, the film falls short of expectations. While the concept of exploring the life of a bodybuilder with an overbearing mother is intriguing, the execution of the film is lackluster. The plot is so simple, yet so unrealistic and dull.

In the end, the film brings you nothing but the stunning physique of Kim Kold, which we don't even see that much. But it makes it even harder to believe that the main character and the world around would behave like in the film, when he looks like that. Honestly, I'd rather watch the showering scene for the whole movie duration. Lead actor does his best with the material given, but the character of Dennis never truly comes to life on screen. Instead, he remains a one-dimensional figure, leaving the audience with little reason to care about his struggles.