Review of Grizzly Man (2005) by Zandra E — 29 Jun 2010

Timothy Treadwell is a name you are most likely to search on Google once you reach the end of Grizzly Man. Werner Herzog has presented an abstract, nonfictional tale of a man who blindly believed that grizzly bears needed protecting, and that he was the one to do it. You are obviously thinking this man has gone off the deep end. Maybe he has. Herzog never takes sides, he merely explains just how remarkable the power of this man as he bared his soul for the camera. Made up mostly of self-recorded footage from Timothy Treadwell himself, Herzog explains the story of Timothy and how he spent the last 13 years of his life doing what he loved, and also of how what he loved was what got him killed. This isn't a spoiler because Herzog gets that fact out of the way very quickly. Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were mauled to death by bears in October of 2003 while they lived with them. Grizzy Man serves not only as a memoir to their enormous contribution to animal preservation, but also a dazzling, sometimes self destructive biography that plays like a cinematic discovery.

I think the films most powerful moments when Timothy sets the camera down and just talks to it. This was the nature program that he was apart of. He would live among the bears all summer and then bring the footage home and show everyone what he experienced. Skeptics called him nuts. This man is sleeping next to animals that will rip your head off in the name of predatorily superiority. He believes that he is protecting them. What Herzog does here is establish that he is not the director here, he has merely put this footage together. Treadwell is his own one man show, and the roller coaster of emotions he feels is impossible to look away from.

Treadwell's use of the camera really could have got him a spot in Hollywood for experimental film maker extraordinaire. How he uses the camera in different ways is mesmerizing. He uses the camera to show the beauty of nature and how we are killing species because we are afraid. Sometimes he uses the camera to let loose his opinions and he soon becomes a live wire of explosive passion. When he starts to swear aloud at the camera naming off specific individual and groups, you have to restrain a cheer. However, all is not fine and dandy with the passionate Treadwell. He uses the camera to be honest with himself. He talks about how lonely he is out there alone, how he doesn't understand the human race, and even if he is crazy or not. He is completely aware of what he is doing, even if the risk is unspeakable.

Herzog also goes and interviews the people involved with Treadwell's life including his parents. He find some very interesting facts such as how he auditioned for Cheers and how early he developed his passion for bears. Herzog then interviews the people that meant so much to Timothy. I couldn't help but feel a little put off when the coroner seemed to spout off a complete explanation of Timothy's death without even blinking an eye. Clearly this was so rehearsed and it came off as some planned dramatic shenanigan. There is also a scene with Treadwell's ex girlfriend who gets very teary eyed when he is mentioned. "He was the most amazing human being!" she says through tear drenched eyes. Save it. Not only is this cheesiness create a sense of desperation, but Herzog breaks his own rule. He claims he is just going to present Timothy's story, and with all of these family interviews and coroner summery, it seems that Herzog is emphasizing how good of a person Treadwell was. Even when he interviews a man who says, "He got what he deserved." Instead of embracing the opinion, Herzog makes it seem as if it is wrong.

However, in the ex girlfriend scene, Herzog listens to the audio footage of Timothy's death that was accidentally recorded, but obstructed. As Herzog sits in silence listening to it, he removes the headphones and immediately said to the girlfriend "You must never hear this." Neither do we. This is a monumentally bold choice by Herzog. This could have turned into one of those 911 calls you hear on the news. We would be more horrified than haunted which is the difference. We could have heard his death and been disturbed and sympathetic towards Treadwell. To make and event or person really stick, you must force viewers to think about what they did not witness. Herzog takes the high road by haunting you with a burning question. What could have been so bad that Herzog burned the tape? You play the possible scenario over in your own head, and you probably aren't even close. Just how bad could it have been?

That thought dwells in the back of you memory, but the movie is about what Timothy did while he was alive. He created a cinematic experience by setting up the camera and talking. His compassion and caring is almost unheard of and his story is definitely worth following. I found myself searching him afterwards, wanting to know more, and even to find the audio of his death. Nothing could be found. His soul will remain in that Alaskan landscape and his shield against animal cruelty will live on. Grizzy Man is an incredible docu-drama, rarely wavering and painting a portrait of a man who refused to give up. It shows the endurance of the human spirit at its finest. Herzog has chosen a unique and compelling story, well worth making a documentary about. Timothy Treadwell died doing what he had loved for so long. How many of us know people who can say that?