Teddy Bear
A sports-club manager races from communist Poland to London through passport sabotage, fake identities, and escalating bureaucratic absurdity.
Overview
A hapless sports manager must navigate a web of deception to secure his fortune and avoid his ex-wife's schemes.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- witty
- irreverent
- sardonic
- classic comedy night
- political satire marathon
What critics said
The film is broadly regarded as a sharply observed, inventive political satire whose absurd comedy captures the frustrations of communist-era Poland.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Ryszard Ochodzki is stopped at the border because pages have been torn from his passport, turning routine administration into a farcical crisis.
The plot uses passports, border controls, banking restrictions, and staged identities to lampoon life in communist Poland.
A film-within-the-film requires a double, enabling the passport scheme and Ryszard's attempted escape to London.
Ryszard races to London to transfer a joint bank account after his passport problem threatens access to the funds.
Films like Teddy Bear, and why
The Firemen's Ball
shares absurdist social satire, bureaucratic obstruction, and irreverent comedy under authoritarian conditions
Brazil
combines farcical identity confusion with sharp criticism of institutional dysfunction and social hypocrisy
To Be or Not to Be
features anarchic political comedy, mistaken identities, and satire of oppressive systems
Movie Details
- Director
- Stanisław Bareja
- Release Date
- 1981-05-04
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 7.8 / 10 (102)
Cast
- Stanisław Tym
- Barbara Burska
- Christine Paul-Podlasky
- Krzysztof Kowalewski
- Bronisław Pawlik
- Ewa Bem
- Zofia Czerwińska
- Cezary Julski
- Marian Łącz
- Stanisław Mikulski
Common questions
- What is Teddy Bear about?
- A sports-club manager races from communist Poland to London through passport sabotage, fake identities, and escalating bureaucratic absurdity.
- What is Teddy Bear like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Teddy Bear as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Teddy Bear violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Teddy Bear.
- What did critics think of Teddy Bear?
- The film is broadly regarded as a sharply observed, inventive political satire whose absurd comedy captures the frustrations of communist-era Poland.
- Which films are like Teddy Bear?
- Films with a similar feel include The Firemen's Ball, Brazil, and To Be or Not to Be.
- How long is Teddy Bear?
- Teddy Bear runs 110 minutes.
