Bear Cub 2004

Pedro, José Luis García Pérez, a gay dentist, agrees to look after his nine-year-old nephew, Bernardo David Castillo, after his hippie sister leaves for India. Bernardo’s father is dead, and the two men have not spent much time together, so what begins as a short arrangement quickly stretches into six weeks without any word from Bernardo’s mother. The quiet routine of Pedro’s life is upended as the boy’s presence forces him to slow down from an otherwise hyperactive social whirl, and the shift touches every corner of his world.

The arrangement pushes Pedro to confront parts of himself he had kept at a distance. He begins to pause his bustling love life and reexamine the way he connects with others, including his partner Manuel [Arno Chevrier], whose shared taste for leather and latex signals a depth of feeling that Pedro has not fully admitted to himself yet. The unexpected responsibility of caring for Bernardo brings a mix of warmth, worry, and stark reality, nudging Pedro toward a more measured, enduring form of intimacy while still honoring the connections he has.

Doña Teresa [Empar Ferrer], Bernardo’s paternal grandmother, makes a forceful entrance, pressing for custody and adding emotional pressure to Pedro’s already fragile balance. Just as Pedro starts to steady himself, a harsher blow lands: Bernardo’s mother has been arrested in India on drug-smuggling charges, and the embassy informs Pedro of the looming possibility of a long prison sentence for her. The revelation resonates with Bernardo just as profoundly, and Pedro realizes that his responsibility for the boy has become a central, undeniable part of his life.

In response, Pedro commits to the challenge. He begins tackling practical demands—repairing the house, securing schooling for Bernardo, and reshaping his days to accommodate a child’s needs—while gradually finding a way to keep a foothold in his own life. He manages to rekindle his sexual life, though in a more restrained manner than before, showing that he can hold both care for Bernardo and affection for others in a new, balanced equilibrium.

Yet Doña Teresa reappears, pressing hard for custody. She crosses lines by illegally obtaining Bernardo’s medical history, revealing that Pedro is HIV positive, and by hiring a private investigator who presents pictures of Pedro enjoying a night out at a gay club. Faced with threats and pressure, Pedro ultimately yields to her insistence and allows Bernardo to enroll in a boarding school, attempting to secure a steadier future for the boy in the absence of stable family ties.

Later, when Teresa visits Bernardo again, the news of Pedro’s HIV status comes to light, though Bernardo reveals that he already knew this from his mother. The emotional toll deepens as Pedro is found to be in the hospital with pneumonia, and Bernardo lashes out, telling Teresa that she is to blame for what has befallen Pedro.

Three years pass, marked by a stream of letters between Bernardo, Pedro, his mother, and his grandmother. A funeral unfolds: Bernardo and two friends, one a boy and the other a girl, attend as a coffin is lowered, and the film keeps whose funeral it is shrouded in ambiguity for a moment longer. A cab then pulls up to take Pedro from the hospital—now recovered and standing again—while he laments the grandmother’s death. In a quiet, poignant moment, Bernardo returns to his two friends, shares a kiss with both, and parts from them, with the story leaving open whether there is a romantic link. The trio then reunites with Pedro, and the three ride away together in the cab, a new chapter beginning as they move forward.