Review of Grizzly Man (2005) by Kenny K — 10 Dec 2010
Three stars for the documentary about a self-loathing arrested adolescent who put himself in harm's way for 13 years, living in close proximity with grizzly bears in the Alaskan peninsula. Of course, his luck finally ran out and he got himself and his girlfriend eaten alive.
Painful to watch, I found myself shaking my head almost all the way through the film. Tim Treadwell so despised humanity that he put himself in a position to be destroyed by nature. He got his wish.
Filmmaker Werner Herzog carefully reconstructs Treadwell's life from Treadwell's own video footage, including a harrowing passage where the video camera recorded the sound of the deadly bear attack. Thankfully, the lens cap was on and no video was shot, and thankfully Herzog has the humanity to not subject the viewer to the audio. But as he listens through headphones, he shakes his head, just as I did.
The world is full of people now who, insulated from the harshness of reality by an over-protective culture, willfully put themselves in insanely dangerous positions (BASE jumping, hiking in war zones, extreme "sports," living with bears) in order to feel fully "alive." Some basic need for danger has gone out of modern life and people and thus seek dangerous situations.
Me, I sometimes drive fast . . . but living with grizzlies?
That takes someone who not only hates mankind but themselves as well. What was truly sad was all the enablers who helped this fool fulfill his "dream." I hope they have paralyzing guilt of the rest of their lives. After all, it was inevitable that their actions would result in Treadwell's death; they were accomplices to his suicide.
This review of Grizzly Man (2005) was written by Kenny K on 10 Dec 2010.
Grizzly Man has generally received very positive reviews.
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