Review of Grizzly Man (2005) by James R — 31 Mar 2012

For those who don?t know who he is, or even those who do may have unsure views about the life that Timothy Treadwell led. For thirteen straight summers, Timothy lived in a tent in a remote area of Alaska to spend time living with wild bears. During those thirteen summers which eventually ended in his and his girlfriend?s death at the hands of a bear, Treadwell recorded over 100 hours of footage, which acclaimed director Werner Herzog decided to take under his wing.

During this documentary, we see Timothy?s love for the animals around him, mainly of course the bears that he goes to see. Werner Herzog in his commentary points out that even though he says often how much he loves them, the bears never respond to him as a familiar friend, instead on occasion looking at him blankly or attempting to attack him. Surprisingly the most heart warming thing we see is how friendly he is with the wild foxes, which often allow him to stroke them while lay in the fields under the sun. It is one of very few romantic moments in the film, as Timothy?s eccentricity begins to become clear more and more.

If Werner Herzog has a point of view on Timothy Treadwell, it is one of admiration. When interviewing a bear specialist who found it ?offensive? that Timothy entered a bears? territory, Herzog is quick to jump to his defence pointing out that his sole intention was to protect them. The people that Herzog interviews about Timothy are a little surreal in their own way, but the majority appreciate what he accomplished and that he was able to find the place he belonged.

It is a film that will split the audience right down the middle, those who think had every right to peruse his dream and live the life he wanted, and those who consider him to be crazy. What this documentary does contain though is one of the greatest scenes in the history of the genre. When Herzog discovers that Treadwell and his girlfriend?s death has been captured on camera with the lens cap still on, he decides to listen while in the company of Treadwell?s best friend. Herzog plugs a set of headphones into the camera and starts to listen to the six minute bear attack. As time slowly goes on the camera slowly zooms in on Herzog, we see raise is hand over his eyes in distress at what he is hearing, and Treadwell?s friend bursts into tears. At the end of the tape Herzog tells her to destroy the tape and never to listen to it. It was a wise decision on Herzog?s part not to let the audience hear the attack. For one thing because it would just be disrespectful and because surprisingly it was made more effective that we didn?t hear.