"That's a nice-a donut."

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Grizzly Man (2005)

Director Werner Herzog's documentary Grizzly Man isn't about grizzly bears. And, no, it isn't about a half-man, half-bear creature. On the surface, it tells the story of Timothy Treadwell, a man who gained acclaimed over the years by returning to the wilds of Alaska annually to live amongst the large, hungry, dangerous, and awe-inspiring, bears. But Grizzly Man isn't even about that, really. It is actually a fascinating account of Treadwell's descent into madness.

From the very beginning Herzog reveals Treadwell's ultimate fate: death at the still-young age of 46. Over the course of his last few Summers in grizzly territory, he had brought along video cameras to document his experiences, and with over 100 hours of footage, Herzog pieced them together. These tales make up a good bulk of the material, with the rest footage of Herzog's investigation to learn more about the man from his friends, parents, colleagues, and other associates.

Initially Treadwell comes off as just a nature-loving oddball. It is mentioned that, in the off-season, he often went around to schools and gave presentations and talks on the grizzly bears, accepting no compensation. He was a relentless advocate of the bears, and saw himself as their caretaker and defender. He was very well-meaning, but also a very misguided person, and over the years we see that his mindset deteriorates into a mass of paranoia, mood swings, and anger. And ...perhaps insanity as well. There are plenty of examples, but one I found quite hilarious was when he deconstructs a big fight that he just witnessed and filmed, between two big grizzly's fighting over a woman. Afterwards, he goes on to interview the loser.

He was ever the showman. (In one interesting tidbit, his father reveals that he "allegedly" was the second place finisher for the bartender spot on "Cheers," that ultimately went to Woody Harrelson.) He often did multiple takes of his shots, and some of these are shown to humorous effect. Make no mistake: Treadwell was a very compassionate and charismatic individual. But this passion would lead to his grizzly death, along with his girlfriend. Unfortunately, he saw himself more as a bear than a human; one person remarks that he would even act like a bear in their presence.

As fun and powerful the movie is, there are some criticisms that need to be addressed. One scene with a good friend of Treadwell, who was also a member of the "Grizzly People" to protect the bears, is out of place and unnecessary, as a coroner awkwardly presents her with a watch. In fact, the coroner is in several scenes and he seems very strange and stilted. These interviews almost borderline on seeming fake, or like bad acting. Some viewers of the movie will dislike the fact that the audio of the death scene is not provided, but rather only a very brief snippet is overheard as Herzog is seen listening to it on headphones. He urges Treadwell's friend to never let anyone hear it and to in fact destroy it. I think this was a good artistic decision to not play it. Doing so not only would have been irrelevant to the goals of the film, but would have come off as sensationalistic and gruesome simply for shock value.

Overall, Herzog deftly handles the subject matter. He also serves as the narrator, which is unusual (as I'm sure Morgan Freeman would have been glad to do it) but it works well; he has an alluring voice. And despite the desire one might have to turn this into almost a mockumentary, he treats Treadwell mostly with respect and dignity, only starting to lecture a bit near the end that the man wasn't quite right. In fact, he evens comes to respect the grizzly man as a filmmaker, as some of his shots were beautifully crafted with meaning and purpose. And Herzog has crafted a wonderful film that is at times funny, sad, and filled with drama. Just don't expect it to be as cute or as family-friendly as March of the Penguins.

The Verdict: B+.

Michael Bentley 7:10 PM

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