Grizzly Man (2005)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Renowned nonfiction director Werner Herzog chronicles the tragic and untimely death of outdoorsman Timothy Treadwell, who devoted his life to studying grizzly bears living in the Alaskan wilderness — only to have one of them maul him to death. Pieced together mainly from Treadwell’s own video footage, this fascinating documentary goes deep into the wilderness of one man’s mind to uncover how he spent his final days.
REVIEW: I am an animal rights activist. I’m a Vegan, a member of several Animal Rights, Animal Welfare and Environmental organizations, and I bother my congressmen and the heads of companies regularly with letters requesting action on a variety of animal and other environmental concerns. I say this as a prelude, because if I, having watched this documentary, think that Timothy Treadwell was a whack job who deserved to be eaten by bears, then the guy was a whack job. People like Treadwell do great harm and disservice to the AR and Environmentalist movements because people look at those people and think that all activists who care about animals must be just like them. I find it especially interesting that in one scene, he shows an obvious dislike for the wolves who killed a fox kit, despite the fact that they wolves are in greater danger than bears due to the resurgence of aerial hunting in 1999.
That said, Grizzly Man is a fascinating documentary about a total whack job. Herzog does an excellent job of showing how Treadwell becomes progressively more and more unhinged the longer he spends in the wild with the bears. By the end, the audience understands the inevitability of Treadwell’s death, which was as much suicide as animal attack. Herzog is also very effective at drawing out the unique individuals he interviews for the documentary, and he has an interesting technique of really drawing out the end of the interview scenes so the audience gets to see that awkward moment after a statement has been made, and all the little tics people display when they are under the microscope.
In addition to capturing a man’s descent into insanity, Herzog also gives Treadwell credit for capturing some amazing images of wild Alaska, from foxes stopping by camp to male bears locked in mortal struggle for the right to reproduce. The backgrounds for Treadwell’s speeches, rants, commentary and introspection are often breathtakingly beautiful.
I’m a bit ashamed to admit that this is the first Werner Herzog film I have ever seen. Grizzly Man sure makes me want to see more.
4.5 stars
Lori
