Formosan black bears are endemic to Taiwan and have been legally protected since 1989, when they were declared an endangered species. However, illegal hunting and poaching continues and their numbers have been declining. Furthermore, reported bear sightings are very infrequent and no one knows exactly how many bears still exist. One of the people who tries to mend both these issues is Professor Mei-show Huang, who is the only researcher ever to study the Taiwan Black Bear deep in the forest that is more than 50 km away from the civilization. Since 2008, the experienced mountaineer/director Chueh-Ming Mai leads his team to document her and her crew’s activities. His efforts have led to this particular documentary.
“Formosan B.B.” is screening at Taiwan Film Festival Berlin
“Formosan B. B.” unfolds in three axes. The first one is to present the dire circumstances of the particular bear and to highlight its appearance, attitude, and the difficulties the animal now faces due to human intervention, regarding both illegal hunting and the transformation of the forest to agricultural land. The second is to show the intense efforts of Mei-show Huang and her team in order to catalogue and to take care of the bears, without actually disturbing or affecting their way of life. This part is probably the most interesting, as we watch them trying to discover the whereabouts of the animal, and then capture them in order to catalogue and examine their health. The search, the efforts to capture without hurting and even a case where they have to transfer one of the bears to a hospital in order to help it with an infection it has are rather captivating, as much as their situation and particular their broken paws or cut-off fingers due to hunting traps are dramatic.
The third axis highlights their native area, the mountainous forests in the eastern two-thirds of Taiwan, in a style that could be perceived as a tour guide to both the setting and its natural inhabitants (animals, birds, insects etc). This aspect benefits the most by Chueh-Ming Mai’s camera, that presents the aforementioned elements in all their glory, through a number of captivating shots.
Lastly, a fourth, minor axis revolves around the consequences of environmental pollution, highlighting the difficulties big mammals now have to face, using the polar bear as its main example.
The overall presentation of the aforementioned elements is quite good, since the topic is really interesting, particularly for ecologists and mountaineers, while Cheer Chen’s soft and almost atmospheric narrative voice offers additional information in a way that also adds to the film’s aesthetics. However, at 120 minutes, the documentary is somewhat difficult to follow for the whole of its duration, particularly since some parts seem to lag for unnecessary reasons.
“Formosan B. B,” may be too long, particularly for Western audiences, but it is quite interesting, well-shot and presents a topic that is very rarely discussed, and that is where its true value lies.
