HELEN AND THE BEAR

In the ‘70s, Helen was a rebellious hippie. As a recent graduate, she needed a job and took one working for her parents’ friend, California Congressman Pete McCloskey. Handsome and charismatic, he was a rising Republican star known for challenging his party: he was a veteran and environmentalist who vehemently protested the war in Vietnam, called for Nixon’s impeachment, and co-authored the Endangered Species Act.

Helen wasn’t intimidated by Pete’s prestige and was drawn to his lack of conformity. It mirrored her own. Slowly, they grew closer. Eventually, they fell in love. When she was 25, and he 51, they married.

All of the things Pete loved about Helen—that she was adventurous and outspoken, and cursed like his Marine Corps buddies — put her at odds with being a typical politician’s wife. Despite being in love, it quickly became clear that Pete put his career first. He was a man of the people.

In the present, Helen continues to love Pete wholeheartedly while wrestling within the confines of marriage. She finds freedom working on their farm in Rumsey, California, but the constant, solitary caretaking—of the land, the animals, and Pete—weighs on her. Whenever she can, she and Pete go on a road trip to a tiny town in New Mexico. Here, Helen has found a queer community where she feels at home. She stays out late into the night with friends, exhilarated by an unfamiliar kind of belonging.

As the story unfolds, the reality of Helen and Pete’s age difference sets in. As Pete’s health becomes more fragile, Helen wonders, “Who will I be when my life is mine alone?” When Pete has a debilitating stroke, Helen decides to sell the farm to be his full-time caregiver. Now she prepares to say goodbye to Pete, and to a love that has been messy, painful, exquisite, and true. Helen does not yet know who she will become, independent of her partner, but she knows she will find out soon.

“This film is glorious. It is one of the great romantic films of the last couple of decades.” - UnseenFilms

“This sublime documentary is as rewarding as it is rare.” - KQED

“It unfolds like a romantic novel rooted in the observations of daily life.” - POV Magazine  

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