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Grizzly Man
Directed by: Werner Herzog
Starring: Timothy Treadwell
Genre:
Documentary
Run Time: 103
min.
Release Date:
December 2005
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
GRIZZLY MAN is an
intriguing and deeply disturbing look at one young man's end of life
experiences in the far reaches of the Alaskan wilderness, living,
"working," and isolating himself with the most deadly creatures on
Earth: the Grizzly Bear.
Timothy Treadwell is this man, and although the documentary takes on the
initial look and feel of a nature film, it is anything but. Tim, as we
come to know him, is the focus of this strangely watchable documentary,
inserting himself in almost every shot and speaking about how he's there
to "protect" the bears (even though he spends much of his time in a
National Park where they're protected anyway), to bond with them (a
definite no-no as we learn through the film's machinations), and to rant
about the outside world and how they (we) don't understand what he's
trying to do out there.
For those looking for a feel-good documentary about a man living with
bears in a beautiful landscape, you'd best look elsewhere.
To me, this film showed how a man with an obvious mental illness can
become so obsessed with an idea ("loving" the bears) that it ends up
killing him. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy nature films as much as the
next person, but I think if you're looking for information about
Grizzlies and how to interact with them, this just ain't the film to
watch. Tim constantly puts himself in harms way and even goes so far as
to take a dip (swim) with a Grizzly, and then proceeds to pet it! He
turns his back on the bears and hides his tent in brambles, a risky way
to camp in Grizzly country.
The mental illness aspect of Tim's psyche was smackingly obvious to me.
The man's preconceptions of right and wrong were very bizarre. Initially
he praises the park service, but later rants about them and their "F-ing"
policies. He becomes paranoid about everyone and everything, moving his
camp into dangerous areas. He befriends every animal as if it had human
qualities, even some pretty cute little foxes, and tells them how he
"loves" them and won't let anything happen to them (I've never heard a
man say "I love you" more often to animals than Tim). How about loving
the race you belong to? You know, the human race? But even with all
these issues, the film pulls you in in a very strange fashion, and this
can be two-fold depending on your stance on certain nature issues; some
(like me) wanted to scream at the screen and warn Tim about what he was
doing and how it would all end if he didn't take precautions (he does
get killed and eaten by a bear in the end, by the way); others might
say, "Go ahead, let him get killed. Who cares."
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Image from Grizzly Man
DVD cost: $10.99
Purchase:
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Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
Werner Herzog
listened to the
audio tape that records the last moments of Timothy Treadwell and Amie
Huguenard as they're killed by grizzly bears. Contrary to some beliefs,
he never owned the tape. It is owned by one of Timothy's friends who has
never listened to it. However, out of respect for the late couple,
Herzog declined to feature it in the film although there is a scene with
Herzog listening to the footage with a distraught facial expression.
Movie Quote: "It's
gotten to be September near October and it's the time of year when
poachers come around and it's time for me to get into my guerilla-style
camouflage outfit..."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Grizzly Man
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