Review of Grizzly Man (2005) by Allen G — 22 Jun 2013

It's not an easy ride- Treadwell's character, the personal nature of his recordings, the tragedy of the events and Herzog's love-it-or-hate-it style make this one that won't appeal to your average documentary goer. It is however a fascinating character study that meets the high standards one would expect from Herzog and I do recommend it.

It's not without its flaws- the coroner scenes in particular crossed the line for me between reality and entertainment with Herzog directing the footage in a darkly theatrical way which felt wholly inappropriate when discussing the details of people's deaths. He did however make the right choice in not revealing the horrid audio of the incident and concentrates on defending the film-output of Treadwell while using him for analysis without making this is a film strictly about him. (even though this isn't really the nature flick it looks to be).

Herzog's heavy-handedness just doesn't feel fully appropriate in this one though and while, I am a big fan, and enjoyed this work also, it did leave me wondering whether some lines had been crossed. That is sometimes the price you pay for something as unique as this though- it is darkly-comic at times, terrifying at others, fascinating in moments and there's beauty in there too. If you aren't familiar with Herzog though, at least documentary-wise, then don't start here- do get around to it at some point though!