Sometimes a film is released that is so realistic that you have to constantly remind yourself that it is just a motion picture. "Grizzly Man" is the exact opposite of that. It is a documentary, but in the world we live in, it is difficult to believe that there existed a man like Timothy Treadwell. Treadwell was a grizzly bear activist who took his passion for bears to a level like no one else. For 2-4 months at a time, Treadwell would camp in Alaska and live amongst the bears completely unarmed, watching them and interacting with them, somehow co-existing with some of the most dangerous animals in the world. In October of 2003 Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie were killed and eaten by a bear. Director Werner Herzog used Treadwell's personal footage as well as interviews with his friends and family to make the documentary.
Treadwell claims over and over throughout the film that he is the "only one protecting these bears", and he criticizes wildlife officials for not doing their job. However, it is never made clear how Treadwell is actually protecting the bears, or that they even need protecting, as they are in the middle of a wildlife preserve, and we never actually see any use that the bears have for Treadwell. It is clear though that Treadwell finds true joy in what he does, and believes very strongly in it. Often, he is very critical of civilization, and seems more content roaming through the woods with a fox he has befriended than he would with a human being.
The great thing about Herzog's presentation of Treadwell is that he does not craft the film in a way that we are told what to think about him. Throughout the film, we are presented a number of viewpoints on Treadwell, from great admiration to "he got what he deserved", and even Herzog offers his own personal thoughts at times. From what I have seen, everyone comes out of this film with their own views on Treadwell, and I have read some heated discussions online regarding the true merits of Treadwell's work.
As for myself, I am not really sure what to think of Treadwell. I strongly suspect that his adventures in the wilderness did nothing for the grizzly bears, but I still cannot help but admire him. It is rare to see someone spending their life doing what they love, and Treadwell made it explicitly clear that he was willing to die with the bears. With Herzog cutting the film, we get perhaps a very different perspective than if Treadwell were editing his own documentary. Herzog leaves uncut pieces of footage in; sometimes we see Treadwell do multiple takes of a "scene", and it is as if we are looking into his secret diary at times as he speaks to the camera. While on the surface it is a documentary about a man and grizzly bears, the film is really somewhat of a character study. We see Treadwell's emotional highs, such as the joy he displays when interacting with the bears, and the lows, such as when he suddenly goes into a complete fit of rage directed at the national park service.
"Grizzly Man" is a very unique film about a very unique individual, and I applaud Werner Herzog's ability to present the film without bias, as this film could very easily have been a piece hailing Timothy Treadwell as an American hero, or one that portrayed him as a lunatic. The pacing was a bit odd, and I do have to question Herzog's commentary on Treadwell at times during the film (to my knowledge he never even met Treadwell, so do we really care what he thinks?); it seemed a little ego-centric. Those were very minor concerns, though, and I was very impressed overall by the film. As we all know, a certain nature documentary has been holding its ground at the box office for months now, and by no means is that certain documentary a bad film, but my recommendation would be to pass up the cute and cuddly birds, and go see how Timothy Treadwell lived and died in a place where few could survive unarmed.
3.5 stars (out of 4)
Treadwell claims over and over throughout the film that he is the "only one protecting these bears", and he criticizes wildlife officials for not doing their job. However, it is never made clear how Treadwell is actually protecting the bears, or that they even need protecting, as they are in the middle of a wildlife preserve, and we never actually see any use that the bears have for Treadwell. It is clear though that Treadwell finds true joy in what he does, and believes very strongly in it. Often, he is very critical of civilization, and seems more content roaming through the woods with a fox he has befriended than he would with a human being.
The great thing about Herzog's presentation of Treadwell is that he does not craft the film in a way that we are told what to think about him. Throughout the film, we are presented a number of viewpoints on Treadwell, from great admiration to "he got what he deserved", and even Herzog offers his own personal thoughts at times. From what I have seen, everyone comes out of this film with their own views on Treadwell, and I have read some heated discussions online regarding the true merits of Treadwell's work.
As for myself, I am not really sure what to think of Treadwell. I strongly suspect that his adventures in the wilderness did nothing for the grizzly bears, but I still cannot help but admire him. It is rare to see someone spending their life doing what they love, and Treadwell made it explicitly clear that he was willing to die with the bears. With Herzog cutting the film, we get perhaps a very different perspective than if Treadwell were editing his own documentary. Herzog leaves uncut pieces of footage in; sometimes we see Treadwell do multiple takes of a "scene", and it is as if we are looking into his secret diary at times as he speaks to the camera. While on the surface it is a documentary about a man and grizzly bears, the film is really somewhat of a character study. We see Treadwell's emotional highs, such as the joy he displays when interacting with the bears, and the lows, such as when he suddenly goes into a complete fit of rage directed at the national park service.
"Grizzly Man" is a very unique film about a very unique individual, and I applaud Werner Herzog's ability to present the film without bias, as this film could very easily have been a piece hailing Timothy Treadwell as an American hero, or one that portrayed him as a lunatic. The pacing was a bit odd, and I do have to question Herzog's commentary on Treadwell at times during the film (to my knowledge he never even met Treadwell, so do we really care what he thinks?); it seemed a little ego-centric. Those were very minor concerns, though, and I was very impressed overall by the film. As we all know, a certain nature documentary has been holding its ground at the box office for months now, and by no means is that certain documentary a bad film, but my recommendation would be to pass up the cute and cuddly birds, and go see how Timothy Treadwell lived and died in a place where few could survive unarmed.
3.5 stars (out of 4)
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