“A quiet and expressive exploration of shifting identities and flowering perspectives.”

The people of Greece have always had a fascination with mountains, which applies to both those who existed during antiquity and in the present day. These natural formations are more than just backdrops to dramatic stories of heroism and valour, but also ancient witnesses to the myths that defined the culture over the centuries, particularly in their relevance to themes such as memory, transformation and the qualities that separate the human from the divine. This seems to be the impetus for the feature directorial debut of Stergios Dinopoulos and Krysianna Papadakis. Bearcave (which is adapted from their own short film of the same name) centres around a number of complex ideas, using mountains as representations of the threshold between the earthly and the transcendent. The film follows Argyro and Anneta, two young women attempting to navigate their adult years. They depend on the support and guidance of their childhood friendship as they endure the process of coming to terms with their own insecurities and burgeoning identities, which become increasingly more complicated as time progresses and they continue to question their personal journeys. Much like the mythology often associated with their culture, they realise that the answers cannot be found in their everyday lives but only through summiting a nearby mountain, in which the titular bear cave is located. Here they will discover some form of existential salvation, even if only metaphorically. A quiet and expressive exploration of shifting identities and flowering perspectives, Bearcave is a challenging and eloquent expedition into the lives of two complex protagonists as they search for meaning in both the past and present.

Bearcave keeps its intentions quite close to its chest, at least initially. This ambiguous approach to exploring the trials and tribulations of these young women is intentional, as it provides the film with a sense of mystery, never revealing too many of its secrets and instead allowing the viewer to develop their own intimate relationship with the protagonists. We are positioned as observers, peering into their daily efforts to make sense of the world that surrounds them, which is only made more challenging by the fluctuations in their existential voyages of self-discovery and the realisation that their identities are in constant flux. The queer subtext becomes extremely pronounced after a certain point, which establishes a narrative that is essentially igniting conversations around the process of rediscovering your desires later on in life, intermingling with the more apparent thoughts on femininity and the role it plays in modern society. Argyro and Anneta (whose names on their own evoke the spirits of the past) are complex figures, characters who we don’t quite understand in terms of their motivations and what drives them to present themselves in a particular way. Through piecing together fragments of their individual desires and how they manifest as they undergo this shared metaphysical journey, they are forced to confront the deeper romantic tensions, the basis for many of the film’s most compelling moments. Their friendship is challenged and distorted as they set out to accomplish a specific goal, but in the process changes into something even more profound than before.

In the pursuit of realising its ambitious goals, Dinopoulos and Papadakis rely on not only the strength of the story, but also the more tangible qualities that make Bearcave distinctive. Several aesthetic decisions drive the film, which is set in a striking rural landscape, a fascinating departure from the urban spaces and seascapes that populate much of contemporary Greek cinema. The directors appear to be inspired by their cultural mythology and by classical folktales, with the film taking on the tone and appearance of an aloof, otherworldly depiction of reality, in which logic is still present but shifted slightly off-centre in an effort to not only capture our attention, but make some thoughtful statements in the process. The film is immersed in a dreamlike, ethereal tone, with both the music and visual compositions (including dynamic character work and bright, vibrant colours that highlight the splendour of the natural world) creating a slightly surreal, eerie atmosphere that guides the narrative, informs many of its developments, and is vaguely disorienting. This prevents us from becoming complacent as the bold concepts emerge throughout the story and instead encourages us to peer deeper into these peculiar visual and aural details as they gradually come together to create a more complete picture of queer desire and the thought-provoking discourse that often accompanies these stories. 

The quiet grandeur of Greece’s mountains becomes the stage for a tender, searing film about the quietly rebellious act of going against the grain, even in moments where the path seems uncertain. Much of Bearcave is difficult to interpret at first based on its unconventional structure and tendency to fixate on aspects that don’t lend themselves to straightforward analysis. However, once it becomes clear that this film does not intend to reveal all of its secrets (at least not in ways that we would expect), the easier it is to become bewitched by its fascinating and off-kilter charms. It moves at a stately pace, a slow-burning existential journey in which we join the protagonists in their efforts to unearth mysteries that inspire a true sense of curiosity in us, leading to some fascinating philosophical ponderings that reveal our common understanding of concepts that are as ambiguous today as they were at the dawn of our sentience. This is a stark, well-crafted exploration of queerness, the awakening of new identities, a tribute to femininity and the extent to which a friendship can be challenged before it is forced to transform. These traits form the basis for a youthful, audacious journey into the lives of two ordinary young woman attempting to navigate various obstacles, remaining consistent in their pursuit of a deeper understanding of their world and shifting perspectives, while never compromising the quiet strength and deep curiosity that comes with being fully and unimpeachably themselves.