Review of Grizzly Man (2005) by Harry W — 24 Apr 2014

Although nature documentaries are already interesting to me, one created by Werner Herzog sounded too good to miss.

Grizzly Man has an interesting person to cover. It is the story of one man fearlessly fascinated with grizzly bears, and it does the best it can to pay tribute to Timothy Treadwelle himself. It asks the question of who he really was and just why he was so fascinated with grizzly bears with various interviewees voicing their suggestion of what the answer could be. The question is never answered, it is simply left for the audience to determine themselves based on various suggestions and the nature of what the film covered. Yet at the same time, the film suggests that it is simply a story of a man's bond with nature. Timothy Treadwelle clearly loved the natural world enough to live and die in it, and that is precisely what he did. Grizzly Man is one of those films that explores the line between man and nature, and it does so using a legendary man whose obsession with it was his legacy and his downfall. We also get Werner Herzog's interpretations of everything, so as well as capturing the characteristics of Timothy Treadwelle which made him an iconic figure, Grizzly Man also depicts Werner Herzog's beliefs about what everything means and encourages viewers to understand their own interpretation of events.

Nobody can ever be too certain about just what Timothy Treadwelle was all about because some people theorise that he hated the world that people like us live and breathe in, while others believe that he truly wants to be a bear. Some viewers may not be pleased that the questions in the film cannot be answered, but those who can simply appreciate the nature of the questions in how they covered a man of mystery who cannot be fully labelled anything should hopefully enjoy Grizzly Man over the course of its 100 minute running time.

Grizzly Man goes back to the start of Timothy Treadwelle's life and reveals footage of him in his youth as well as interviews with his parents, and it progresses through the years and reveals the impact he made on people around him as well as the way that he was constantly judged by many people for so many reasons. Grizzly Man takes an honest look at the titular man Timothy Treadwelle and it is strong enough to ensure that it leaves a memorable impact on viewers.

Grizzly Man compiles a lot of Timothy Treadwelle's footage which he had shot over his years in the wildlife, and it captures both his flamboyant energy and the beautiful sights of the Alaskan wildlife. His footage reveals the complicated nature of his behaviour when he interacted with the natural world as well as at times looking into him through his monologues to the camera. It all captures the most deep and meaningful ideals about the man and serves as an excellent depiction of him which is untainted by the bias that would be found in a media's depiction of the man. Grizzly Man doesn't depict Timothy Treadwelle as anything more than he is and so it is left for the audiences to decide precisely what the answer is.

Also, the footage that Timothy Treadwelle captured reveals the beautiful scenery in the Alaskan wilderness and the creatures within it.

Grizzly Man doesn't depict its bears as the monsters that they tend to be labelled, it instead reveals the nature of them in a context that isn't threatening to them. While the story does reveal the fact that Timothy Treadwelle was ultimately killed by one of the creatures that he spent his life protecting and living with, it doesn't skimp on the fact that he survived with them for 13 years. Grizzly Man is a study of both the endeavour of humanity and the natural world where Timothy Treadwelle essentially serves as the line between them. Timothy Treadwelle is almost like the Tarzan of Grizzly Bears, and his energy is so admirable yet strange at the same time. And thanks to his footage and Werner Herzog's honest approach to all of the material in the film, I learned a lot more about Grizzly Bears from Grizzly Man than I had learned from all other films I had ever seen or books I had read. I would say that Grizzly Man finds a fine balance between depicting the natural world and the Grizzly Man who explored it, so it is certainly a strongly educational feature which is also entertaining.

Timothy Treadwelle is actually amazing. He knew that exploring the Grizzly Maze would kill a person, but that he would never give it up as he says that directly to the camera a mere few days before his death. But it also reveals his overconfident demeanour and the way that he really thought that even he was invincible to being killed by bear attacks. In his life he reveals that bears are not always the killers they are perceived to be, yet in his death he reveals that nature is something that not even he could understand fully. Timothy Treadwelle's death does not overshadow his life, but it reveals the harsh reality of the natural world. It leaves the ending of the documentary on the true sadness of it all. The final note in Grizzly Man could bring tears to the eyes of viewers who are thoroughly engrossed in it and truly interested in just who Timothy Treadwelle was, and it is difficult to walk away from Grizzly Man not having his image and his persona cemented in your memory bank, so it is definitely a fine documentary and it is visually spectacular due to magnificent cinematography.

So gently paced and touching upon the mystery of Timothy Treadwelle with honesty and truth, Werner Herzog reveals his insightful eye for understanding nature in Grizzly Man which pays an excellent tribute to the kind of person that Timothy Treadwelle was in the most insightful possible manner.