Grizzly Man [2005] [DVD]

Please note that this is not a wildlife documentary! The documentary is really about Timothy Treadwell, it uses parts of Timothy's own amazing footage to track his deteriorating mental state leading up to his death. Treadwell was a lover of Grizzly bears and dedicated his life to 'protecting' them, trying to understand and become one of them. Werner Herzog paints a portrait of an extraordinary man who has retreated from human society and found peace in the animal world- for 13 summers he lives closely with the Grizzly bears, and when I say 'close' I mean CLOSE! Some of the footage is awe-inspiring and Treadwell manages to capture many staggering images of these incredible animals. What is really intriguing however is Treadwell himself- we come to realise that he had many problems in his own life, he was unable to cope with human society, his life and his emotional problems; this his has led to his extreme obsession with Bears and living amongst animals. He is like the Michael Jackson of the animal world, frolicking around speaking to the animals, personalising them and making friends with many beautiful creatures- there is a peculiar innocence about his attitude but it is inevitable that is naivety and delusion would lead to serious danger.

Over time, he believed he was trusted by the bears, who would allow him to approach them, and sometimes even touch them. Treadwell was repeatedly warned by park officials that his interaction with the bears was unsafe to both him and to the bears. "At best, he's misguided," Deb Liggett, superintendent at Katmai and Lake Clark national parks, told the Anchorage Daily News in 2001. "At worst, he's dangerous. If Timothy models unsafe behavior, that ultimately puts bears and other visitors at risk." Treadwell filmed his exploits, and used the films to raise public awareness of the problems faced by bears in North America. In 2003, at the end of his 13th visit, he and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were attacked, killed, and partially eaten by a bear; the events which led to the attack are unknown.

As Grizzly Bear works towards its conclusion it becomes increasingly disturbing- Timothy's seems to descend more and more into insanity and reckless abandon, he seems ready to die and unfortunately in the end he got what he was asking for, such a shame he took his girlfriend with him. Descriptions of the aftermath made feel pretty queasy... This is an unusual documentary- you could easily convince someone it is a black comedy fiction because some of the people in it are truly bizzare characters; Timothy's friends and some people Herzog gets to speak are rather strange (especially the coroner). To conclude; this is a story about a disturbed man who descends into insanity, a Michael Jackson like character but his affinity is with Bears not children. In the end he was deluded but he lived an incredible life and had an unbelievable connection with animals- he made some friends out there, we see him walk with bears who follow him as companions and he befriends foxes, it is really worth watching; surreal and fascinating.

Werner Herzog is noted for making films that include 'animals doing unusual things' and 'long, extended landscape shots' (IMDB). Grizzly Man fulfills both criteria, but more unusual than the behaviour of the bears that feature in this brilliant documentary, is that of film's protagonist - Timothy Treadwell - an authentic American outsider who spent 13 long summers in a remote Alaskan wilderness documenting these wild creatures. It's an examination of this obsessive, eccentric and ultimately deluded man, who is misguided into the belief that he is able to 'make friends' with some of nature's most fearsome predators.

What makes this film especially interesting is the way Werner Herzog pieces it together as a kind of poem to man's relationship with nature, intercutting Treadwell's own - often inspirational - wildlife footage, his on-camera soliluquies, and interviews with family, friends and contemporaries. What catches the eye the most is the footage of Treadwell himself, ranging from his amusing wildlife 'presentations' to egomaniacal rants against the park authorities, poachers and other visitors to his remote hideaway.

What becomes apparent, and is expertly pieced together by Herzog, is that while Treadwell is selflessly committed to what he sees as the preservation of the bears, he may well be doing them as much harm as good, and he has faslely seen in them a mutual affinity that ultimately costs him and his girlfriend their lives. Is Treadwell's obsession with the bears embelmatic of his more problematic relationship with human society? What is it that he is escaping from? As Herzog himself points out in monologue, there are moments in Treadwell's films that are 'pure cinema'. What makes this film great is that he allows these moments to breath, while building up a sensitive but unromanticised portrait of a troubled soul. Along with 'Etre et Avoir' and 'Capturing the Friedmans' - one of the greats in the current renaissance of the documentary film.

I not really one for writing reviews but I am absolutely compelled to give some of my thoughts about this particular film. From start to finish Grizzly Man comes across as utterly bizarre and breathtaking whilst demanding your complete focus; there really is nothing to compare it to, it isn't simply a wildlife documentary or a biography, but an assault on our capacity for emotion and compassion.

It does become apparent that Treadwell is indeed quite a naive man who applies an all to simplistic and romantic outlook towards his beloved subject (and, one could say, life in general); but this is what makes this film so great. I really believe it has the ability to stir the soul of even the stoniest character. I found myself at times disappointed that Treadwell betrayed the way I wanted his character to behave and the sensibilities I believed he held, but ultimately found his outlook refreshing and intriguing and certainly valid in a world of scrutiny and scepticism. This is a film about big brutal wild creatures who don't operate in the human world, but even more so it is a film about human society and its limitations.