Review of Grizzly Man (2005) by Dann M — 29 Jun 2013

I have two cats I love dearly. I've had others -- most just disappeared, I'd assume eaten by coyotes or foxes. There's tension over territory. There's also tension over mannerisms -- all three animals are pretty similar in how they're built and how they act. I guess that's the lay of the land: rather than get along, the way of nature wins above the way of grace. Every time.

Timothy Treadwell lived among the grizzly bears of Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska for thirteen summers, documenting his stay in first-person accounts detailing weather conditions, his opinions on love and sex, but most of all unflinching footage of bears fighting, fishing, and in general just going about, well, regular bear stuff. Treadwell was often at odds with park services in regards to their "Silence of the Lambs"-type don't-approach-the-glass rules when it came down to tourists, etc.

But Treadwell, obviously, was more than a casual viewer of his habitat. Just that, the mountains and rivers became his, or at least he wanted them to. As someone in Werner Herzog's striking documentary "Grizzly Man" opines the only reason Treadwell lasted as long as he did before being mauled and killed by one of these animals was that the bears saw the man as being somewhat off-kilter, and either put up with his antics or ignored him best they could.

Herzog sees the world in Treadwell. He sees the frustration toward his surroundings as on par with Thoreau. The fiercest and wildest thing about "Grizzly Man" is the downright fascination Herzog has to Treadwell's story. That, who knows, maybe Treadwell had it coming putting himself out there like that. Or he just wanted to get away and found a fresh start in the wild. But he didn't mean to kill himself. Herzog doesn't hold Treadwell's anger, fear or bitterness against him.

You wait on edge throughout the entirety of the recordings the movie sifts through waiting for that one thing that pushed either Treadwell or the bear that killed him over the edge, and the audio from the event, while Herzog is shown listening to and describing it, the actual moment is wisely never shared. Because Herzog, the great filmmaker he is, also respected Treadwell as the same. The best documentaries are canvases of insight into people, movements or the environment. "Grizzly Man" peers so damningly inward it's no wonder it feels like it's wrestling with the wrath of God.