Grizzly Falls
Encyclopedia
Grizzly Falls is a film from 1999 about a boy and a bear, set in British Columbia
in the early 20th century.
) telling his grandson and granddaughter about his life as a young boy in the early 20th century.
The tale begins: Harry as a boy (Daniel Clark
) is in his pre-teens. His mother (Marnie McPhail) dies, and he is sent to a boarding school because his father cannot look after him. Eventually his father, Tyrone Banks (Bryan Brown
) comes, and takes him on a bear-hunting trip to Canada
, to kill a grizzly bear
.
When in Canada, British Columbia
to be exact, Tyrone and Harry meet up with an experienced Native American
tracker with Scottish roots called Joshua McTavish Standing Bear (Tom Jackson
). The three then go to a saloon
to find some good hunters to help them on the hunt. The men in the saloon laugh at the plan for it, but some come along, bringing dogs and guns, including Grits (Colin D. Simpson), Genet (Oliver Tobias
) and Lanky (Brock Simpson).
On the hunt, the boy sees two grizzly cubs which no one else sees, then escapes from the mother bear (Ali Oop), rejoining his father.
The next day, the hunters capture the two cubs, and hold them in the camp, near a waterfall called grizzly falls, hence the movie's name. The bear mother is angry, and comes to the camp. Although she cannot free her offspring, she instead kidnaps Harry to exact revenge on Tyrone.
She then runs away with him, and looks after him, feeding him, and once saving his life from wolves. He is at first intent on escaping from the bear, whom he names Mizzy, but eventually grows to love her.
Meanwhile Tyrone is intent on rescuing him, and Joshua comes along, but the men from the saloon and their dogs are hardly as keen. One breaks his leg at grizzly falls, and he and his friends leave, taking the bear cubs with them and setting up their own camp somewhere else.
Tyrone and Joshua continue searching.
In another area Harry stumbles upon the saloon men's new camp whilst Mizzy is finding food. He looks inside the hut where the men are sleeping, and wakes them up. One man tries to protect the boy but another points his gun at him. Just as this man is going to shoot, Mizzy bursts through the window, knocking down one wall of the hut. This crushes one man. Harry runs, and hides in the river nearby.
One man chases after him, but cannot find him, and gets lost in the woods.
Then Tyrone and Joshua find the camp, and attack the men who are in it, while the bear runs to its chained-up cubs outside, trying to free them. Tyrone and Joshua manage to shoot all the men, save for one who sneaks out and tries to shoot Mizzy, but fortunately Harry returns, knocks over the evil man,Genet and frees Mizzy's cubs.
The evil man gets up, but has no time to do anything because Tyrone rushes out of the house, leaps on him, and throttles him. They then begin a ferocious wrestle, which Tyrone wins, plunging his opponent into the river. Tyrone srike Genet death.Sream take his corpse. Harry says goodbye to his bear-mother Mizzy, and she goes away into the mountains, reunited with her cubs.
They say farewell also to Joshua, and return to Britain
, where Tyrone becomes a better father, having learned a lesson on the adventure.
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in the early 20th century.
Plot
The film starts with an old man, Harry Banks (Richard HarrisRichard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
) telling his grandson and granddaughter about his life as a young boy in the early 20th century.
The tale begins: Harry as a boy (Daniel Clark
Daniel Clark (actor)
Daniel Allen Clark is a American-Canadian actor and singer. Clark is best known for his role as Sean Cameron on Degrassi: The Next Generation and as Steve Rendazo on the movie Juno.-Personal life:...
) is in his pre-teens. His mother (Marnie McPhail) dies, and he is sent to a boarding school because his father cannot look after him. Eventually his father, Tyrone Banks (Bryan Brown
Bryan Brown
Bryan Neathway Brown, AM is an Australian actor.-Early life:Brown was born in Sydney, the son of John Brown and Molly Brown, a house cleaner who worked as a pianist in the early days of the Langshaw School of Ballet. He grew up in the south-western Sydney suburb of Bankstown and began working at...
) comes, and takes him on a bear-hunting trip to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, to kill a grizzly bear
Grizzly Bear
The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...
.
When in Canada, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
to be exact, Tyrone and Harry meet up with an experienced Native American
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
tracker with Scottish roots called Joshua McTavish Standing Bear (Tom Jackson
Tom Jackson (actor)
Thomas Dale Jackson, OC , is a Canadian born Métis actor and singer perhaps best known for the annual series of Christmas concerts, called the Huron Carole, which he created and starred in for 17 years...
). The three then go to a saloon
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
to find some good hunters to help them on the hunt. The men in the saloon laugh at the plan for it, but some come along, bringing dogs and guns, including Grits (Colin D. Simpson), Genet (Oliver Tobias
Oliver Tobias
Oliver Tobias is a UK-based film, stage, and television actor and directorBorn Oliver Tobias Freitag in Zürich, Switzerland, he is the son of Austrian-Swiss actor Robert Freitag and German actress Maria Becker. He came to the United Kingdom at the age of eight and trained at East 15 Acting School,...
) and Lanky (Brock Simpson).
On the hunt, the boy sees two grizzly cubs which no one else sees, then escapes from the mother bear (Ali Oop), rejoining his father.
The next day, the hunters capture the two cubs, and hold them in the camp, near a waterfall called grizzly falls, hence the movie's name. The bear mother is angry, and comes to the camp. Although she cannot free her offspring, she instead kidnaps Harry to exact revenge on Tyrone.
She then runs away with him, and looks after him, feeding him, and once saving his life from wolves. He is at first intent on escaping from the bear, whom he names Mizzy, but eventually grows to love her.
Meanwhile Tyrone is intent on rescuing him, and Joshua comes along, but the men from the saloon and their dogs are hardly as keen. One breaks his leg at grizzly falls, and he and his friends leave, taking the bear cubs with them and setting up their own camp somewhere else.
Tyrone and Joshua continue searching.
In another area Harry stumbles upon the saloon men's new camp whilst Mizzy is finding food. He looks inside the hut where the men are sleeping, and wakes them up. One man tries to protect the boy but another points his gun at him. Just as this man is going to shoot, Mizzy bursts through the window, knocking down one wall of the hut. This crushes one man. Harry runs, and hides in the river nearby.
One man chases after him, but cannot find him, and gets lost in the woods.
Then Tyrone and Joshua find the camp, and attack the men who are in it, while the bear runs to its chained-up cubs outside, trying to free them. Tyrone and Joshua manage to shoot all the men, save for one who sneaks out and tries to shoot Mizzy, but fortunately Harry returns, knocks over the evil man,Genet and frees Mizzy's cubs.
The evil man gets up, but has no time to do anything because Tyrone rushes out of the house, leaps on him, and throttles him. They then begin a ferocious wrestle, which Tyrone wins, plunging his opponent into the river. Tyrone srike Genet death.Sream take his corpse. Harry says goodbye to his bear-mother Mizzy, and she goes away into the mountains, reunited with her cubs.
They say farewell also to Joshua, and return to Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, where Tyrone becomes a better father, having learned a lesson on the adventure.