Despite the accolades this film has received, and the fact that I put myself on the side of the animal lover tree huggers, there is something really off about this film. In fact, I found it profoundly disturbing and misleading–which I suppose is the point.

Werner Herzog, a somewhat controversial (and influential) German film maker, put this documentary together, writing his own narrative and patching together many segments of Treadwell's 100 hour video diary of his time with the bears. To his credit, the German director seems to approach this documentary without insulting the memory of the unfortunate Treadwell, although he paints a portrait of Treadwell without romanticizing him. The act of making the film will ultimately give Treadwell and his cause the attention of millions. Perhaps it will also cap his story by showing a human being behind the self-styled hero of the Grizzlies. The fact that Treadwell's inner turmoil is so vividly revealed in cuts from his own footage, keeps this from being a Disney film.

If you really are interested in wildlife and their habits, making a study of Grizzlies is an honorable endeavor. But it requires a respect for the nature and characteristics of the animal and their essential behavior- And you need to be aware of and prepared for the worst as well as the best case scenario. Was this true of the Grizzly man? Let me tell you some of the story, and you can decide for yourself.

Timothy Treadwell was a personable young (?)man with a passion for Grizzly bears. He considered himself their protector, and their champion in the civilized world. To that end he spent 13 summers with a pack of Grizzly bears in the Alaskan wilderness. He was armed only with a camera, and never intended to harm them in any way. He stated several times that he "would die for these bears". He would film bears every summer for thirteen years, as he lived among them and then go and give public lectures to schoolchildren or any other group willing to listen. He never charged any money for his public appearances. He and some friends founded a wildlife activist organization, THE GRIZZLY PEOPLE.
….

But looking deeper into Treadwell's personality , we see a 46 year old guy who didn't have many friends, had problems forming relationships with women, and came to prefer the company of bears to the company of his own species. He had tried his luck as a Hollywood actor, and was defeated when he did not make the casting call for a part in the TV series CHEERS. He wore his hair combed forward (like the early Beetles) to cover his receding hairline. He began his journey into the wilderness with a drug overdose epiphany. We have no evidence that he was active or passionate in defense of wildlife in his early life, although he still had his childhood Teddy bear at the age of 43.
How Treadwell, was funded for these expeditions was never explained.

Watching the numerous monologs Treadwell put on video, I see a guy profoundly into himself, with melodramatic depressive traits. He more often than not was the only hero of his bear filming, and by the last summer had even withdrawn from the organizations that had previously supported his efforts, notably the Park Service. Two things became increasingly evident-his growing disaffection with the human world, and his fantastic belief that he was becoming one with the bears. His self pity increases, as does his social alienation. In the end, was he killed by the bears for reasons known only totally by the bears, or was he just suicidal? If he was suicidal why did he bring his girlfriend, Amy? If anyone deserves a hero's accolade, it was Amy, who tried to get the attacking bear away from Treadwell, when she could have run away- and died as a result. .Did Treadwell want to be killed by the bears? If so, how could he assume that dying by tooth and claw was going to help protect the Wilderness Grizzlies? My response to hearing that two human beings were killed and eaten by a bear would not be favorable to the bears.

So what do you think? I tend to believe NOT that Treadwell wanted to be a bear, although that is what he says, but in his increasing alienation with the real world , he believed that he was somehow magically protected from Grizzlies. He assumes the bears are instead, like him-A fatal mistake as it turns out.

DIRECTION AND WRITING

Werner Herzog wrote the script, directed the film and in fact, "starred in the film" as the voice of the narrative. There was no reason to do a commentary, because the movie is the commentary. Herzog carefully tries to separate his own views from Treadwell's-which boils down to polar opposites. Treadwell believed that the natural world reflected and included some sort of perfect harmony. Herzog believes that the true nature of the universe is Chaos. I believe that Herzog&'s intent is the true value of this film; He searches for a common and nobler humanity in his documentary.

CINEMATOGRAPHY- AND EDITING

The documentary was beautiful to look at, and of course the credit goes mostly to the person who culled important pieces of Treadwell’s filming for t his film. It could not have been easy. Peter Zetllinger the cinematographer is part of the director's usual crew , imported from Germany, as is the editor, Joe Bini. All aspects of the film including the music, were controlled by Herzog, I think.

Timothy Treadwell should be given credit for the wildlife footage. Herzog admires Treadwell as an excellent filmmaker, if nothing else.

MUSIC

The musical score was beautifully written, and timed precisely (at the time of the recording) to the already edited body of the film. Much of it appears to have been improvised, created from an idea or feeling that these expert musicians were able to express so beautifully through stringed guitar, cello, piano and drums, with am occasional lute thrown in. The music is haunting, occasionally lyrical, and expressive of gestures and actions by people and animals. I really liked the scoring of the bear fight, although it was not used in the finished film. There are few really happy moments in the music. It is exactly what Herzog wanted for this film. There is a longish special feature which documents the making of the music on the soundtrack. Richard Thompson, a well known guitarist and performer, is given the credit for the original work.

CAST

There is no real cast here because the people listed are pretty much the people that exist or existed as themselves in real life.

The cast of this film include first and foremost footage of our Grizzly man himself,

Timothy Treadwell-Blond, not looking his 46 years (at all) had a camera-friendly face, but his high pitched voice and self aggrandizing monologs were a wee bit too much for me. What disturbs me most about this film is Treadwell's increasingly unrealistic view of himself as being bigger than life, and his childlike belief that when he talks to bears, they listen. You have to be some kind of stupid to be in the midst of hungry bears and expect them to leave you alone... Preparing for hibernation in October a bear will eat anything and everything. I wish Treadwell peace in whichever afterworld he now lives. It is probably not in Bear Heaven. After all we don't expect the fried chicken we ate yesterday to be reincorporated and get to heaven before us, do we? Now that is scary thought.

Amy Huguenard was the woman that accompanied Treadwell in his last trek into the Katmai coast with the Grizzlies. He never mentions her in his monologs, and her image only appears by accident for a second or two. But an audio tape of those last moments was found (they didn't have time to uncogver the lens) and thankfully Herzog does not make us listen to it. Apparently Amy stayed and sacrificed her own life trying to drive away the Grizzly attacking Treadwell.

Werner Herzog, a well known German director, himself a legendary filmmaker , narrates the tale carefully, with a noticeable German accent.

The other credited cast member is the Medical Examiner, Franc G. Falico. Unaccredited interviewees include Treadwell’s parents and a few of his friends and acquaintances.


Final Recommendation

This documentary is worth watching, if only for the superb close-ups of the Grizzlies. Maybe well intentioned activists should be warned to NOT TRY THIS AT HOME, boys and girls. The film was well constructed and leaves you thinking about many things. The ultimate message to me though, does not involve the bears, but concerns what can happen when you spend too much time alone with your demons. There was no escape ultimately- for Treadwell, his unacknowledged girlfriend , or the bear that ate them. And what about Amy? Somehow, taking her with him seemed like an act of incredible irresponsibility.

Treadwell's love for the bears, even skewed, was obvious, and admirable. He took some amazing shots of the Grizzly bears. I would love to do that-but only with a very long powerful telephoto , and a reliable means of self-protection. I know the animals in the wilderness are dangerous-I have seen the evidence and watched it happen many times. Are they bad? Only by our standards. Who knows what constitutes ethics for a bear?




Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age