Grizzly Man (2005)

Directed by: Werner Herzog

***

I'm not sure if it was ever the intention but this documentary bordered on being great with an element I wished it had done better. The very first movie I reviewed on this blog was Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, a movie which delved deep into who Polanski really was and it compared and contrasted differing opinions perfectly. At times, Grizzly Man gave us interviews with people who knew Timothy Treadwell and compared with interviews of those who simply knew what happened to him. Hearing these opinions suggested that this film was more than just an unedited highlight reel of Treadwell's footage of his life with Grizzly bears.

After having watched this film I wanted to think more of Treadwell than a crazy person who may or may not have thought he was a bear. I had a hard time doing this despite the positive things so many of his friends and family had to say about him because I had no choice but the use my eyes and ears as common sense. Watching Treadwell interact with animals that could (and eventually did) kill him wasn't the crazy part. It was his behavior towards the outside world and the very obvious idea that living summer after summer with no human interaction drove him a little bit insane. It doesn't take a crazy person to live among and document animals, many people do it. A crazy person is someone who is 100% convinced that he is the guardian and protector of the animals and the land on which they live.

Hearing the opinion of the coroner or other experts in the Grizzly bear field was interesting. So many people, and I'm convinced the general public, believe that Treadwell got what was coming to him. Contrasting this were the opinions of people who actually knew him. They spoke of his passion and his love for nature and bears. One can only sympathize over being passionate for something but most people are passionate about films, or music or books, or at least things that don't eat us. Hearing the interviews with those people who miss Treadwell now that he's gone didn't make me feel any more like what he was doing was sane or necessary. They were simply the testimonies of loved ones who are sad that their friend or family member is dead.

There was never really an explanation as to why Treadwell did what he did. With the exception of a short look back on his life, we never really learn much about Treadwell. Really what we got is a lot of short clips of him interacting with bears, clips of him yelling at society at large, claiming that he will protect the bears from everyone who intends to do them harm and then the occasional interview about his death. I can only speculate that most viewers go into this movie with a certain opinion of who Treadwell was and whether or not he got what he had coming. What would have worked for me is if this film challenged thoses opinions. If interviews with friends and family made a convincing argument that they believed Treadwell was doing good work and that beyond the crazy antics we saw on camera, there was a smart man who was so passionate about something that he wanted nothing other to experience life with it. Instead we just got grief. Those with the same opinions as the majority of this film's audience had much more impactful things to say about what happened and that left me disappointed thinking of what could have been.

Maybe it couldn't have been. Perhaps friends and family felt the same way everyone else does and maybe its a cold, hard fact that Treadwell was crazy and did get what was coming. I do believe this is the case and my desire for a different movie did get in the way of what this film had to offer. It was much more a recap than a message film. If there is a message its that a passion for something really can drive your life in one direction. For Treadwell, his passion for bears drove him to live with them as often as he could. I believe as the film suggests that Treadwell would have no regrets. That he'd do everything the same if he had to do it all over again. Herzog narrates the film and explains that he sees the world in a very different way than Treadwell. I think a lot of people do, which makes it difficult to relate or sympathize with him. Leaving this film, I asked myself how I'd want to die... morbid yes and the honest answer is the easiest and most painless way possible but being eaten by a bear is kinda cool too.