Grizzly Man (2005)

Sad story. I am planning to visit Alaska to see the bears closer than ever.

Much of this film is pretty standard, and it seems to follow basic conventions of documentary filmmaking. However, there's an added layer of depth and exploration, one that is entirely composed because of what Herzog is going for. You can sense his intrigue and fascination with his subject all throughout the film. What should be noted is that while Herzog makes it a point to actually tell us the ways in which his worldview is different from Timothy's, he still does so in a respectful, mannered way. He seems to respect Timothy and that comes shining through, he seems to even look up to him in a weird way for what he does. There's no judgement at all, and instead Herzog comes across as yet another viewer just interested in this story, lending the film its poetic nature.

This is not a documentary, but a belittling of a man whom Herzog did not agree with, who can no longer defend himself, and a conscious effort to lead viewers to do the same. This is a movie about Timothy Treadwell's death. It is about Werner Herzog taking the life work of a man and twisting it completely away from what the man originally wanted, in order to paint his own narrow-minded viewpoint that nature is a cruel place where man does not belong.Sadly, this is the exact opposite of what Treadwell wanted to come from his tapes, and both Palovak and Herzog should feel deeply ashamed for the creation of this film. The best part of this movie is Treadwell himself (i.e. in the opening scene) and all of the footage he takes, though he is given no credit for it. Treadwell's 6 minute death constitutes only .0002% of the time he spent in the wilderness. And it is that 6 minutes of failure that Herzog so expertly leads the viewer to focus on, leaving the overwhelmingly vast majority of his successes untold.Herzog wants the viewer to think of Treadwell as a madman, someone who "crossed a line," and from the reviews, his obvious tactic worked. Herzog, a film director, spews his psychoanalysis of Treadwell throughout the entire film. He even features an interview with someone who goes as far as to wonder if Treadwell was "mentally retarded." If Treadwell was mentally retarded and crossed the line, you can be rest assured he would have died the first night, week, or month he was there. Instead, Treadwell produced the most documented evidence in the history of man that human and bear can coexist peacefully for long periods of time. 35,000 hours is a long time for a food item to be at the mercy of nature's apex land predator. Dare I say that two humans in each others presence for 35,000 hours might eventually kill each other for even less reason than a bear would? At least the bear was hungry.The scene with the coroner is flat out creepy and has no place in a movie about Tim's life. The scene of Herzog listening to the tape has no place in the movie either, is self-gratifying, and reminds me of someone gloating to other children that he got to see something they didn't. It is incredibly disrespectful to show himself listening to the tape of Treadwell's death, and then saying that nobody else should ever hear it. I cannot even fathom why that was included in the movie other than to shift the focus to the director, rather than subject, once again.Herzog claims in later interviews he didn't want to make a snuff film yet that is basically what he did anyway. He features a long winded description from the coroner of exactly what happens on the tape. Was it really necessary to include the details of what happens when a bear decides to eat a man alive? Is that what Treadwell would have wanted his documentary to be about? Herzog's slow speaking, condescending voice constantly interjecting is irritating at best, ruinous at worst. He interjects his viewpoint about nearly everything he shows Treadwell doing, and at that, he only picks the most unflattering scenes of Treadwell, such as when he gets vitriolic about the park rangers. The viewer can be rest assured that Herzog himself has never had an outburst of anger. The inclusion of Treadwell's most private video recordings are incredibly disrespectful. Do not for a second think Treadwell would have included them in his own movie, and it is akin to bullying a dead person that Herzog decides to expose them. And strangely, Herzog was in one of the most densely populated bear areas in the world, yet makes no attempt to film a bear himself. The most tragic thing to me is that it was Jewel Palovak who Treadwell left in possession of his life's work, and that she chose such a biased producer to make the video. Her decision to have Herzog make the movie shows that she was not a friend at all. Let me leave you with a quote from Treadwell to Palovak: "If I die, if something happens to me, make that movie. You make it. You show 'em." Way to go, Palovak. You really found someone to show 'em.

You may read reviews and news stories that refer to the subject matter of this film as an in-depth study of a passionate environmentalist's quest to protect the ursine denizens of an Alaskan grizzly habitat.I'm here to tell you that this is a flick about a crazy dude that gets eaten by a bear.Others may say that the subject of the film, Timothy Treadwell, while a tad eccentric and misguided, gave his life in a dramatic attempt to teach the world how misunderstood the grizzly is; that his child- like fascination with the grizzly bear, in addition to various other wildlife in Alaska's Katmai National Preserve, was both beautiful and admirable. I've read many reviews in the last hour maintaining that Treadwell spent the final thirteen years of his life trying to send a message of compassion for wildlife everywhere and the sanctity of the land on which they live.I'm saying that the only message I took away from this guy was: Grizzly Bears Eat People! Don't Invade Their Space and Poke Them and Stuff, or They Will Kill You and Your Girlfriend!As for Treadwell's message, it's garbled at best. Personally, I always thought that grizzly bears might eat me. Turns out I was right, so I'm not sure I see how I've ever misunderstood the nature of the grizzly.If you've been wanting to see this film, or want to see it now that you've heard that an environmentalist gets eaten by a bear, please don't avoid it because you think I've spoiled the ending or didn't like it. They tell you about Treadwell's demise at the beginning, and I really did enjoy the story. Herzog's editorial asides undermined the documentary feel of the film for me, but who am I to argue with a guy that dragged a steamboat over a mountain?Spoilers below...What gets me about this Treadwell guy is that the film, for whatever reason, never really talks about how delusional he is. College dropout, failed actor, former drug addict. That's apparently what qualifies him to be a wildlife expert. He goes out into the woods every summer and hangs out with bears and foxes, then he talks to them in this Mister Rogers, sing-song voice, and pretends that they're his friends. To his credit, the foxes actually seem to dig it, but at no point in 100 minutes of film does any bear in his vicinity appear to view him in a welcoming manner. They don't let him touch them, all but the cubs keep their distance, and many of them seem pretty annoyed.If there had been a thought balloon above the head of any bear in "Grizzly Man" I imagine it would have said, "The minute we run out of fish, I'm eating the weirdo with the camera."My point is that Timothy Treadwell had issues. Viewing him as an authority on grizzly bears and wildlife conservation, as many people apparently did and was never discounted in the film, is like seeing Hugh Laurie as an authority on diagnostic medicine. Timothy Treadwell was a figment of his own imagination; a character in an elaborate, self-obsessed fantasy. I think "Grizzly Man" takes him entirely too seriously as an activist.Treadwell goes on at length in the film about how he sees himself as the protector of the Katmai grizzly, and that it's a role he takes very seriously. "I would die for these animals," he states with a show of emotional conviction.Yet during the only segment in the film where one of his grizzly friends is being harmed by humans, Treadwell hides in the bushes and sounds on the verge of tears, unwilling to reveal himself. These guys, whom Treadwell refers to as poachers, were standing around a boat taking pictures and throwing rocks at a nearby grizzly. Treadwell does nothing. It appeared to me that while he was horrified at the way the bear was being mistreated, he was more threatened by the intrusion of other humans into his fantasy world, and was too frightened to do anything about either.It's a sad story. Yes, partly because this kind-hearted guy and his girlfriend get gobbled up by a bear. But also because Treadwell really seemed to need help. A handful of "dear friends" were interviewed for the documentary, and I'm left wondering if these people had pointed out that he was acting like a wackjob, he may have avoided spending his final moments as a 6-foot chew toy.Tim Treadwell really seemed like a sweet guy with a caring circle of friends. It just seems to me that he deserved better in their hands...Good flick. Check it out.