Grizzly King

Chapter 21

Muska followed Langdon's trail for a full half mile.It ran, then walked, and finally stopped altogether.It sat like a dog, facing the long slope.If Langdon was walking, Muska wouldn't stop until he was exhausted.Of course, the cub didn't like the cowhide basket either.It dangles in there.Twice, the horse that carried it shook all over, and the shaking of the horse made Muska feel like an earthquake.It knew that both the cowhide and Langdon were ahead of it.Mascar sat for a while, whimpering sadly, and he did not move forward, but he was sure that the friend he had grown to like would return in a few moments.

That friend came back to him every time and never let him down.So, Mascar began to look around for the spring grass or viola that he likes to eat.For a while, it was careful not to stray far from where Langdon and the others walked.

That day, the cub remained in the grassy meadow below the slope, where the flowers were blooming and the sun was shining, and he found more than one place where his favorite bulbous root plants existed.It dug out grass roots to fill its stomach, and took a nap.The sun was slowly setting, and the gloomy mountain shadows darkened the valley.At this time, Muska gradually became afraid.

Mascar was still a tiny bear cub who had a horrible night completely alone the night after his mother died.Later, Thor replaced its mother, and later, Langdon replaced Thor, so until now, it has not experienced the dark loneliness and emptiness.Muska crawled under a bush near the path, and continued to wait, listening expectantly, sniffing the air.The stars were out, bright and dazzling, but not attractive enough to attract Mascar tonight.It hid under the bushes and only slipped out cautiously until dawn.

The sun once again gave Muska courage and confidence, and it walked back, roaming through the valley, and the smell left by the horse's hooves became weaker and weaker until it disappeared completely.That day, Mascar ate some grass and a small amount of Bermudagrass.The second night came, and Mascar came to the slope on which the hunters and their cavalry had come.At this time, it was tired and hungry, and it was completely lost.

That night Muska climbed into a hollow log and slept in it.On the third day, it remained the same.For many days and nights after that, it was alone in the great valley.Muska passed Thor and the pond where he had met the old bear, sniffing hungrily among the fish bones.It walked round and round the dark and deep lake; and it saw those shadow-like things moving in the dark forest.It passed a beaver dam and slept two nights near the log jam.There he had watched Thor throw the first fish out of the water.It almost forgot about Langdon now, and it missed Thor and its mother more and more.Muska needs them, he needs the company of Thor and his mother more than trusting humans, because Muska has adapted to life in the wild.

It was early August, and the cub reached the break in the valley, and climbed the slope, where Thor heard the rumble for the first time, and learned the power of the hunter's gun for the first time.During these two weeks, Mascar grew rapidly, and although he often went to sleep with an empty stomach, he was no longer afraid of the night.It traversed deep, dark canyons, and over clay pits.This was the only access, and Muska followed it to the summit of the fault zone.It was here that Thor crossed the summit, and Langdon and Otto followed closely behind.

Of course, Muska knew nothing about it, and he had no impression of what he saw and heard now, but this valley was so beautiful, the food was so rich, and the sun was so abundant, so he didn't hurry to walk through this place.Here, it found patches of spring grass and viola.One day, Mascar nearly tripped over a groundhog, a young groundhog about the size of a red squirrel.Before the little animal could run away, Muska pounced on it, and the little groundhog became a delicious meal for it.Really, this is the first time it has killed prey.

It took a full week for Muska to cross the trough of the creek, near the bottom of the slope where his mother had died.If he walked along the top of the slope, he would see his mother's bones had been picked clean by wild animals.Another week later, Muska arrived at the small meadow where Thor had hunted the reindeer and the big black bear.

Now, Mascar knows, it's finally home!
For two days in a row, Mascar stayed around the scene of the meal and fight, never going more than two hundred yards away from the scene, and it waited for Thor's return from morning to night.Afterwards it had to wade a little farther in search of food, but each afternoon, when the mountains cast their long shadows, he returned to the bushes where he and Thor had stored their food, and at the same time He was robbed by black bears like robbers.

One day, Muska traveled further than usual in search of grass roots.

It left "home" for a good half a mile, and then it sniffed around a rock.At this moment, a huge shadow suddenly cast on it.Mascar looked up, and he was stunned. He didn't move for half a minute, but his heart was jumping and beating. In his life, his heart had never been beating like this.It was Thor!It stood no more than five feet away.Grizzly, like Muska, remained motionless, staring at the cub calmly.Immediately afterwards, like a puppy, Muska screamed happily and ran forward.Thor lowered his huge head for half a minute, and they stood motionless.A moment later, Thor's nose burrowed into the down on Muskar's back.Then Thor walked up the slope as if the cub had never been lost, and Muska happily followed.

After that, many days passed, the two traveled happily and ate delicious food.Thor took Muska to countless new places in the valley.The pair also had a productive fishing day and hunted a reindeer.Mascar grew fatter and heavier.By mid-September, Muska had grown to the size of a giant dog.

Then came the day when the berries were ripe.Thor knew where all the berries grew somewhere down in the valley, wild red raspberries first, then soapberries, then currants that grew deep in the forest.Mascar's favorite was the red currant, a tasty gooseberry about the size of a cherry and almost as sweet as the granulated sugar Langdon fed Mascar.Red currants are berries that grow in clusters, each cluster of chestnuts grows large and plump, and the clusters do not grow leaves.Mascarpone can pick and eat a quart of red currants in 5 minutes.

Finally, berry season is over.It was October and the nights were cold.Sometimes, the whole day is cloudy and the sun is not visible.The snow was thickening on the summits until it reached near the skyline; here it was no longer melting.Snow began to fall in the valley, laying a white layer, which made Muska feel cold under his feet, but the snow melted quickly.The cold north wind blows, and the low summer hum of the valley dies, and in its place is the mournful wail and shriek of night, and the mournful voice of the trees.

To Muska, the whole world seemed to have changed.It felt strange that shelter from the cold could be found at the bottom of the valley, but why did Thor stay on the slope where the cold wind hit when it was cold and dark?If Thor could tell Muska, he would say: Winter is coming, and these slopes are the last places they feed—there are no berries in the valleys, and the grass and roots cannot supply the nourishment of their bodies; they cannot No more wasting time looking for ants and maggots, and the fish are now in deep water; the reindeer, at this season, have a keen sense of smell like a fox and run as fast as the wind.Only on the slopes were they sure of catching groundhogs and gophers, which are food in times of famine.

Now Thor was pawing the ground in search of these game, and Maskar was doing what he could to help with the digging.On more than one occasion, the pair have turned up enough dirt to fill several wagons in search of a hibernating brood.Sometimes they dug for hours before catching three or four gophers the size of red squirrels.Of course, gophers are as fat and tasty as gophers.

In this way, the two of them spent the last few days of October and entered November.At this time, the snow and the cold wind really came, and the blizzard from the north was so fierce that the ponds and lakes began to freeze.However, Thor lingered on the slope.Mascar shivered at night, wondering if the sun would never rise again.

One day, around mid-November, Thor was digging up a colony of groundhogs.Suddenly it stopped, went straight down the slope into the valley, and went southward in the most efficient way.They were ten miles from Clay Pit Canyon when they set out, but the grizzly was moving so fast that they were there before dusk that afternoon.

For two days after that, Thor seemed to have no purpose in life.In the canyon, there is nothing to eat at all.Thor turned and turned among the rocks, while his nose was sniffing and his ears were listening.Muska was clearly puzzled by its behavior.The next afternoon Thor stopped among the jackpine bushes, which were strewn with fallen needles.Thor started eating the needles.To Mascar, the needles didn't look too good, but somehow the cub felt it was time to do what Thor did.So it licked the needle and swallowed the leaf.How does it know that this is the last food that nature prepares for its hibernation.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon, and the two came to the mouth of the cave where Thor was born.Right here, Thor stopped, he smelled the wind from top to bottom, not knowing what he was waiting for.

It was getting late, the howling storm was circling in the canyon, and the biting wind was blowing from the top of the mountain.At this time, the sky was pitch black and the snow was flying heavily.

The grizzly stood for a moment, head and shoulders thrust into the mouth of the cave.Then it entered the cave, with Muska following.The cave was deep, dark and gloomy, and the two of them kept walking in it. Gradually, the cave became warmer, and the whistling wind weakened until it became a whisper.

It took Thor at least half an hour to adjust himself, as if he were going to sleep.Muska also curled up, lying beside Thor.Cubs feel warm and comfortable.

That night, the storm raged and snow fell heavily.The canyon was surrounded by fog and clouds. The clouds and mist first drifted and circulated in the canyon, and then gradually reached the top of the canyon. The clouds and mist became thicker and thicker, and the whole world was deeply covered.After daybreak, the entrance of the cave disappeared, the rocks disappeared, and the black and purple trees and bushes disappeared. It was white everywhere, and everything was silent, and there was no deep voice in the valley anymore.

Muska is deep in the cave, and it moves restlessly.Thor let out a long sigh.Afterwards, they both fell asleep, and slept soundly, for a long time.Perhaps, the two of them have fallen asleep.

Scarlet

When I started thinking about making Bear Story, I heard about the wonderful novel The Grizzly King by James Oliver Colwood.As a filmmaker, I am interested in describing the most simple and eternal emotions.I made the film "Fire", which depicts the complex emotions of primitive people.After filming, I want to observe and explore the root of people's emotional behavior at a deeper level.So I read every book I could find on animal behavior.I began to realize that I was reading myself.This is a human comedy in the animal kingdom!I immediately wanted to use these special materials to find out about myself and the human species, to prove that we are not as unique as we think.I was thinking: why can't we show animal love?If possible, then we will find out how similar we are to animals, and we can communicate with each other.

In this way, a film emerged in my mind, it is not a documentary, but an emotional drama.The animals in the play will become movie stars, allowing the audience to share their joy and sorrow, just like watching other movies with human actors.I need a story.One day, my friend Givat Bevac, who later became the screenwriter of the movie Bear Story, showed me the novel "The Grizzly King".At that time, I was watching the French version of "The Grizzly Bear King".When Givat Bevac was young, he won a prize in a school competition, and the prize was this book, so much so that he still recalls it with affection.I finished reading this book in one afternoon.I was shocked!I know, I've finally found what I've been looking for.

Grizzly tells the adventures of two bears and their hunters in the spectacular and forbidding wilderness of nineteenth-century British Columbia.Not only that, but the book contains much more than the story itself.In our opinion, Colwood's greatest gift is his extraordinary insight and imagination into the emotions, habits, personalities and environments of animals.In this book, he uses this vision to create a beautiful and moving drama, rich in emotion and description method that we are accustomed to associate with human beings.In fact, all of these things are in everything, including love (maternal love and affection between spouses), loneliness (insecurity of cubs), compassion (nurturing of cubs), pride (ruling of territories), and most importantly Yes, that is forgiveness (selective attack).

What is unusual about this book is that Colwood has created such a good character as Grizzly Thor.In the book, from the moment we meet the majestic Grizzly Thor, Lord of the Forest, we are both awed by his power and overwhelmed by his sincerity.He is a dignified ruler, but besides that, he scratches his back against trees, rolls in mud, whines, is lazy, or is naughty.

Thor is the true hero and king of the story, and his response to the hunter depends on what Colwood has in mind.Saying too much would give away the mystery of the novel, but it's worth noting that Colwood refrained from giving Thor too much morality or "humanity"

motivation.Thor is a bear, an eccentric, sympathetic grizzly who acts on instinct.

The hunters broke into Thor's world, and Thor's life immediately changed drastically, but in the end, even Jim Langdon, the fanatical hunter, was moved with compassion.Through Langdon's eyes, Colwood recounts his hunter-turned-bear friend.Bruce Otto is part clever hunter, part guide.Strange to say, he is one of the least sympathetic characters in the novel, but it is precisely because of his rigid and rigid views that he is so important.He was the bear's worst enemy, and we know and remember him for that.

When Colwood introduces readers to the bear cub Masca, people will be deeply attracted by the story.Thor reluctantly adopted it at the time, and later protected it.This bear cub is shocking and admirable.Immediately I identified with Mascar and decided to retell the story through his eyes because the emotion was so earthy and yet so universal: he was born shortly after his mother died and he needed protection; he cared about Thor's injuries , showing natural emotion.Its growth is a real and touching process.

Colwood paints images with such sensibility and knowledge that they come alive to my eyes.After reading this book, its true emotions and spectacular scenes still linger in my mind for a long time.So I hoped to achieve the same amazing effect when shooting "Bear Story".

Of course, it is not easy to put all the plots on the movie screen.In fact, we have to spend several years to plan the details of each scene, to find the most suitable shooting location in the most remote mountains in the world, and at the same time, we have to select the bear star and its substitute from hundreds of bears, and then Retrain the bears.Dozens of experienced and dedicated crew members worked on the film, including animal trainers and animation artists.We stayed in the Dolomites for six months, and it often took several days to capture a few seconds of footage because of several days of rain or the lack of cooperation of bear actors.In the end, we shot millions of feet of film, and the production costs were staggering.

However, learning about bears was a crucial part of the project for me, as I was unprepared for it.In fact, after reading the book, I'm still hesitant about whether the bear could be a character in the movie.After all, the story that Colwood wrote is so general that it applies to almost any mammal.As for the bears, they are gigantic animals, stubborn and frighteningly strong.It's easier said than done when working with bears.I went to the zoo to pick characters, saw wolves, tigers, elephants, apes, but none of them fit well.Then I went to look at the bear and immediately thought there was something different about the animal.Of course, bears are cruel, dangerous, and killers, but bears are animals that we can easily find in common with humans: bears can stand on two feet, use two arms, claws are like fingers, and the entire bone structure is similar to humans.In addition, the vocal tract system of bears is also similar to that of humans.In fact, the cry of a newborn bear cub is very similar to that of a baby during the first few months.So, I get it, they definitely fit.There is no denying that bears are beasts, big and fierce, the embodiment of wildness, but at the same time, they are extremely expressive in ways that humans can understand.

That's not to say they act like people.The story is fictitious. In fact, bears are bears. They are not like actors. They are unwilling and unable to be any roles. They just follow their feelings.However, during the filming of this film, the entire crew was choked up on several occasions as they watched the animals magically recreate everything everyone expected from the script.There is no need to impose human concepts on animals. In these episodes, animals will behave in the same way as humans.The movie "Bear Story" tells us that animals are one of us.

I started this film to discover what kind of animal I am and to broaden my understanding of who I am physically, emotionally, and naturally.Colwood helped me find the right approach, and filming with bears really changed me.In retrospect, I have almost always thought of animals as mechanical toys, thinking that bears, wolves, or tigers are all the same and can only respond in one way under known conditions.Now, I know how big my mistake was.I know that bears have personalities and emotions just like people.For example, I have witnessed a love between a mother bear and her cubs whose passion, tenderness and emotion are beyond description.Seeing this, I understand that despite human culture and technology, we are not much different from animals on an emotional level.I am happy and proud of this.I now understand more clearly what our efforts are for and how important our results are!
Colwood's experience in British Columbia, Canada, had a very similar effect on himself.He hunted bears for many years, and then he began to observe bears, and gradually realized that the mutual respect and love between bears should be respected by humans. The Grizzly King book was written for his son so he wouldn't wallow in his "lust to kill."This moved me very much. In Colwood's words: "The most exciting thing is not hunting, but releasing."

At that time, the number of bears in the whole world was tens of thousands, and the original wild areas were tens of thousands. The protection of wild animals and their habitats was not paid attention to by people, but Colewood came to the above conclusion at that time, This also makes me feel very admirable.Bears are now in sharp decline around the world.In France, only sixteen poor bears barely survive in the wild.In the United States, bears survive in only a few states.The wide-ranging environments that bears need to survive are even rarer.Ironically, in order to shoot the final scene in the film, to show the miles and miles of snow, we had to go to the Macanniel Mountains in Northwest Canada and find a place that big, without roads, telephones, No cables, fences, or pipes.

Like Colwood, I hope that my film and the reprint of this book will at least have some impact on this sad state of affairs.I admit, this was not my original intention.I'm a filmmaker, and my job is to entertain the public, describe the world of emotions, and tell stories with images on the screen.But I've grown to love and need wild areas.

My hope is that my daughter will spend a few months of her life living in a place where there are no planes, no phones, no pollution, just forests, clear water, wild animals, as I did when I made this film.I would be honored and happy to play any role if I could do something for her.

I am pleased to inform you of some of the progress made since the film's release: in France, thanks to this film, President François Mitterrand is working to protect sixteen wild bears in the Pyrenees.In Austria and Switzerland, because of the film, local people tried to introduce bears and create national parks for them.Meanwhile, in Austria, a gigantic hydroelectric dam planned for a beautiful gorge is being considered.In Finland, after watching this film, people realized that there is no law in place to protect bears from hunters.Currently, they are trying to create such a law.Britain's Prince Charles, the King of Norway, the Queen of the Netherlands, who watched the film as members of the World Wildlife Fund, are now once again involved in bear rescue.

These are very exciting developments, and I'm glad to be able to play a part in them.

I feel that this book and the film based on it are an opportunity for bears to be respected, protected, and perhaps most importantly, the places bears depend on are preserved and bears are rarely hunted by hunters anymore.Now, in the vast majority of cases, bears die because they don't have enough room to forage and expand their territories: they can't adapt so that they don't eat and reproduce as they once did.Although everyone loves bears, people occupy the land that bears need, or graze on bears' territories.If we really love bears, they should be left alone.

Colwood's book was published more than 70 years ago.Really, read this book and enjoy it slowly.May it open your heart and enlighten your wisdom.

Jean-Jacques Arnault in Paris in August 1989 (on October 8, 1988, the film "Bear Story" directed by Jean-Jacques Arnault was released in Paris. After that, the films were successively released in other European countries. By 10 In August 19, the box office of the film reached 1989 million U.S. dollars and won the box office championship. At that time, the film had not yet entered the film markets such as North America, the United Kingdom and Japan. The filming process of this 8 million U.S. dollar film was recorded In Bear Stories: The Journey of Jean-Jacques Arnault's Filmmaking, published by Newmarket Publishing, USA.)
(End of this chapter)