Infinitely Polar Bear (2016)

In the late 70's, in Boston, the bipolar Cameron "Cam" Stuart (Mark Ruffalo) lives with his mulatto wife Maggie (Zoe Saldana) and their daughters Amelia (Imogene Wolodarsky) and Faith (Ashley Aufderheide) in an isolated house in the countryside. When Cam is fired from his job, he has a mental breakdown and Maggie is forced to institutionalize him. When he is released, he moves to a small apartment while Maggie works to support the children. She decides to apply to an MBA to improve her income and she is accepted by the Columbia University in New York. She asks Cam to take care of the girls for eighteen months and he agrees despite his fears. Maggie moves to New York and Cam is responsible for Amelia and Faith education. Will the scheme work?"Infinitely Polar Bear" is a heartwarming film with outstanding performances. The dramatic situation of Cameron is shallow, but the movie is delightful to watch. Just as a curiosity, the girl Imogene Wolodarsky is the daughter of the director Maya Forbes. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Sentimentos que Curam" ("Feelings that Heel")

If you love Mark Ruffalo--as I do--this is a must watch film. Everything is excellent: the story, script, casting, locations, costumes.... It is a rare find. I am a parent; I have friends and acquaintances with bipolar disorder. This film tackles those topics effectively and rings true on both fronts. The film is set in the late 1970s and touches on a variety of delicate subject matters for that era: class, wealth and poverty; mental disorders; biracial relationships; education and career opportunities for girls and women. And subjects matters that are still contentious today: disparity in public school districts; career opportunities for working mothers; effective parenting. Overall, this film is fascinating and I highly recommend it.

There was a short piece in The New Yorker last year that made this one seem like a sureshot; it mentioned, among other things, that when Wes Anderson heard the story of writer/director Maya Forbes's childhood, he told her to forget about everything else and make this movie. Twenty years later, here it is. It's obviously a labor of love, and I'm a little reluctant to find fault with it. However... I can see why Forbes cast Mark Ruffalo as her father, Cam, a Boston trust funder who'd been diagnosed as bipolar years before (that's where "polar bear" comes in). Cam was tantrum prone, moody and unstoppably eccentric (way past the standard movie "quirky"), but Forbes wants us to see the side of him that her mother fell in love with and his children were clearly devoted to. Ruffalo's an unselfconscious, immensely likable actor, and he's rarely let us down, but this time he doesn't seem to have much of a handle on his character. He basically plays Cam as an amped-up version of his normal exuberant self, but he sometimes speaks in an affected stagy voice--unclear whether that was Cam doing bipolar shtick or Ruffalo trying out an accent. All in all, I really couldn't see him as the black sheep of a Boston Brahmin family, let alone a guy who'd be tempted to sing along with a bagpiper busking in Harvard Square. (Forbes got one of her cousins to play a partner in the family brokerage firm who talks with the authentic Back Bay honk; the city of Boston itself is played by Providence, RI, a little less convincingly.) Forbes's daughter Imogene, OTOH, gives a great performance as her mother's 12-year-old self, but Forbes's mother, played by Zoe Saldana, comes across as oddly generic. Overall, there are some entertaining moments, but despite its powerful subject, "Polar Bear" didn't really engage our emotions; the script just seems like a series of disconnected episodes-to be fair, I guess that's the way that most of us who aren't Proust or Charles Schulz remember our childhoods-and the film doesn't pick up much momentum as it goes along. Long story short-watchable but disappointing.

'INFINITELY POLAR BEAR': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)A comedy-drama flick, about a bipolar dad, struggling to raise his two young daughters; while his wife tries to support their family, in business school. The film was written and directed by Maya Forbes; and it's based on her own life experiences (as a young girl, with a bipolar father). The movie stars Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky and Ashley Aufderheide. It's an interesting, and well made film study; on mental illness, and how it effects loved ones.The story takes place in late 1970s Boston. Cameron Stuart (Ruffalo) is married to Maggie; and they have two young daughters together, Amelia (Wolodarsky) and Faith (Aufderheide). When Cameron has a bipolar breakdown, he's fired from his job and put in a mental hospital. Maggie moves their daughters into a cheap apartment, in a poor part of town. When Cameron is released from the hospital, Maggie asks him to take care of their kids; while she goes to business school, in New York full time. Cameron agrees, and then struggles to maintain his sanity; while also trying to be a good father.The film is a great examination of bipolar disease; and how mental illness effects family. Ruffalo is exceptional in the lead, and the two young girls are outstanding (as well); especially Wolodarsky, playing Forbes (as a young girl). Forbes' script is clever, and very thoughtful. Her direction is decent, but not anything too memorable. Still, it's a pretty impressive directorial debut.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/b_aLk3J5gh4