Review of Grizzly Man (2005) by Robyn N — 19 Mar 2013

"Grizzly Man" is unlike any nature documentary I've seen; it doesn't approve of Treadwell, and it isn't sentimental about animals. The documentary is an uncommon meeting between Treadwell's loony idealism, and Werner Herzog's bleak worldview. Treadwell's footage is sometimes miraculous, as when we see his close bond with a fox who has been like his pet dog for 10 years. Or when he grows angry with God because a drought has dried up the salmon run and his bears are starving. He demands that God make it rain and, what do you know, it does.

Treadwell was an environmentalist who gained notoriety when his passion for grizzly bears led him to spend 13 consecutive summers (1991 through 2003) on the Alaskan peninsula living amongst them. During his last five years, Treadwell brought a video camera with him to capture images of the bears and himself in their territory. In October 2003, Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were killed by a grizzly. Their remains were discovered the next day and the bear was shot. Left behind by Treadwell was about 100 hours of footage that Herzog has sifted through to produce this fascinating motion picture.

Treadwell was more complex than he seemed. In rambling, confessional speeches recorded while he was alone in the wilderness, he talks of being a recovering alcoholic, of his love for the bears and his fierce determination to "protect" them -- although others point out that they were safe enough in a national park, and he was doing them no favor by making them familiar with humans. He had other peculiarities, including a fake Australian accent to go with his story that he was from Down Under and not from New York.

"Grizzly Man" addresses some complicated themes. What is that fine line between man and nature? Did Treadwell see himself as more bear than man? Were the liberties he took by initiating such close contact with the bears "disrespectful" (as one Native American puts it) to the natural boundaries between a predator and its potential prey? Certainly, Treadwell found a home in the wilderness with his beloved bears that he could not achieve in human society. Regardless of one's views of his passionate work and lifestyle, "Grizzly Man" is compelling material from start to finish.