East Germany’s Western Strikes a Different Chord

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MOVIE REVIEW
The Sons of Great Bear (Die Söhne der großen Bärin)
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Genre: Western, Drama
Year Released: 1966, Eureka Blu-ray 2025
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director(s): Josef Mach
Writer(s): Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich (novel), adaptation credited to DEFA
Cast: Gojko Mitić, Jiří Vršťala, Rolf Römer, Hans Hardt-Hardtloff, Gerhard Rachold, Horst Jonischkan, Jozef Majerčík, Milan Jablonský, Jozef Adamovič, Hannjo Hasse
Where to Watch: available July 21, 2025, pre-order your copy here: www.eurekavideo.co.uk

RAVING REVIEW: THE SONS OF GREAT BEAR doesn’t just stray from the American Western blueprint—it redraws the entire structure. Crafted by East Germany’s state-run studio DEFA in 1966 and adapted from Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich’s popular novels, the film reimagines the frontier through a distinctly socialist lens. While the typical Hollywood Western centers on the concept of manifest destiny and rugged individualism, this film inverts that narrative, instead focusing on Indigenous resistance, collective struggle, and the moral bankruptcy of colonial greed.

Leading the charge is Gojko Mitić as Tokei-Ihto, a Dakota warrior who becomes the reluctant symbol of resistance after witnessing the murder of his father by Red Fox (Jiří Vršťala), a deceitful scout with designs on gold buried beneath tribal land. It’s a familiar setup—revenge, conflict, land. Still, the film’s perspective makes it feel unfamiliar in a way that’s both refreshing and slightly isolating, depending on what you come to a Western expecting.

The ideological undercurrent runs deep. Unlike the more morally ambiguous anti-heroes of Spaghetti Westerns or the romanticized cowboys of John Ford’s cinema, Tokei-Ihto isn’t driven by personal vengeance alone—his arc is tied to the survival and dignity of his people. He’s not mythologized as a lone savior but rather elevated as a representative of a broader communal ethos. For viewers raised on the individualistic icons of American genre cinema, this shift may feel disorienting, but it’s also what makes the film historically significant.

Technically, THE SONS OF GREAT BEAR is impressive. The new restoration by the DEFA Foundation, presented here by Eureka’s Masters of Cinema line, is clean and powerful. The natural landscapes—filmed largely in Romania and East Germany—are used to full effect, offering the kind of wide, panoramic shots audiences associate with Westerns, but with an eerie stillness that underscores the film’s political clarity. There’s little romanticism in the violence or the land; instead, the tone often feels somber and purposeful.

Mitić’s performance as Tokei-Ihto is one of the film's strongest strengths. His screen presence—commanding yet measured—was enough to launch a full series of Westerns at DEFA, known in East Germany as Indianerfilme and historically nicknamed “Red Westerns” due to their socialist politics, which established him as a kind of countercultural Western star throughout the socialist bloc. He embodies the film’s conviction without overdramatizing it, and that restraint works well here.

Still, for all its historical and cultural importance, THE SONS OF GREAT BEAR does struggle at times to balance its messaging with resonance. The narrative can feel stiff, and the characters often serve more as ideological archetypes than fully formed people. This isn’t a story built around psychological depth or moral ambiguity. Instead, it’s a clear-cut parable: good vs. evil, oppressed vs. oppressor, and justice as a communal imperative rather than personal triumph.

That makes the film fascinating as a political artifact, but less gripping as a drama. Modern audiences—especially those unfamiliar with East German cinema—might find the pacing sluggish and the plot predictable. Some moments could have benefited from more tension or development, particularly during the middle act, where the action slows in favor of exposition and speeches.

Fortunately, the Blu-ray release helps contextualize its legacy. Masters of Cinema has gone above and beyond with their supplements here: an audio commentary, new essays on DEFA’s political approach to the Western, and video features examining its global relevance. The inclusion of newly revised English subtitles also makes this a definitive presentation for those curious about cinema beyond the familiar Hollywood-Western axis.

Ultimately, THE SONS OF GREAT BEAR is a film that works better as a cultural mirror than as a gripping standalone piece of entertainment. It offers a valuable counter-narrative to the cowboy myths exported by the West and highlights how even genre films can become ideological battlegrounds. Its historical importance is unquestionable, and its release on Blu-ray is long overdue. But its dramatic impact is more muted, more reflective than riveting.

For genre scholars, film historians, or anyone interested in the intersection of cinema and politics, this is an essential viewing. For the casual viewer looking for dusty gunfights and campfire yarns, it may land too heavy-handed. Somewhere between tribute and critique, this “Red Western” offers a sobering, ideologically charged ride across a very different kind of frontier.

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[photo courtesy of EUREKA ENTERTAINMENT]

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