Good films move you, and great films resonate within you long after the final reel. Before encountering this film, I had a vague awareness of Timothy Treadwell as 'the bear guy', someone who briefly came to prominence because of the manner of his death, a man who had the crazy idea that bears and humans could live in the same space, and paid for it with his life, dragging his hapless girlfriend in his ill-fated wake. Maybe he was an urban myth, or a Darwin Award contender briefly illuminated in a forwarded email.
In fact, Timothy Treadwell left over 100 hours of video tape charting his expeditions to Alaskan bear country. How the footage came to be acquired and manipulated by Herzog I do not know, but thank God that it did. It would be easy to poke fun at Treadwell as a un-informed tree-hugger. The voices of those that do so are heard in the film. On the other hand, one could easily treat a man who loved bears dearly and paid for it with his life with reverence. Those people are also represented.
Herzog rises above. He finds the humanity in Treadwell without ignoring the madness. He shows the beauty of Treadwell's images and the idiocy of some of his acts. Treadwell was a complex character; handsome, fit , articulate, low in self-esteem, boastful, humane, vicious... All these sides to his character are revealed, without ever answering the question, "Why did he do it?" To try to do so would be trite, and Herzog skillfully leaves it up to the viewer to decide how they feel about Treadwell's life and death. The coldness in the eyes of the fox, the indifference in the bear's stare - stunning, haunting images that get inside your soul. Treadwell cursing the Park Service - images he may never have revealed to the world had he lived, but glimpses of a fragile being that we are privileged to view because of tragic circumstances. If Treadwell had lived, he may have edited this footage himself to create a different picture of his quest, his being. That he died means his legacy, through Herzog, is a documentary of poignant beauty and heartrending tragedy. Herzog does not redeem Treadwell, but he humanises him, and lets us see ourselves as we could easily become. Sometimes the path less chosen is less chosen for good reasons.
The 50-minute extra on the DVD, on the making of the soundtrack for the film, is an outstanding documentary in its own right. Grizzly Man is an sublime work of art that illuminates and edifies. There is no better study on celluloid of the flawed human condition.
In fact, Timothy Treadwell left over 100 hours of video tape charting his expeditions to Alaskan bear country. How the footage came to be acquired and manipulated by Herzog I do not know, but thank God that it did. It would be easy to poke fun at Treadwell as a un-informed tree-hugger. The voices of those that do so are heard in the film. On the other hand, one could easily treat a man who loved bears dearly and paid for it with his life with reverence. Those people are also represented.
Herzog rises above. He finds the humanity in Treadwell without ignoring the madness. He shows the beauty of Treadwell's images and the idiocy of some of his acts. Treadwell was a complex character; handsome, fit , articulate, low in self-esteem, boastful, humane, vicious... All these sides to his character are revealed, without ever answering the question, "Why did he do it?" To try to do so would be trite, and Herzog skillfully leaves it up to the viewer to decide how they feel about Treadwell's life and death. The coldness in the eyes of the fox, the indifference in the bear's stare - stunning, haunting images that get inside your soul. Treadwell cursing the Park Service - images he may never have revealed to the world had he lived, but glimpses of a fragile being that we are privileged to view because of tragic circumstances. If Treadwell had lived, he may have edited this footage himself to create a different picture of his quest, his being. That he died means his legacy, through Herzog, is a documentary of poignant beauty and heartrending tragedy. Herzog does not redeem Treadwell, but he humanises him, and lets us see ourselves as we could easily become. Sometimes the path less chosen is less chosen for good reasons.
The 50-minute extra on the DVD, on the making of the soundtrack for the film, is an outstanding documentary in its own right. Grizzly Man is an sublime work of art that illuminates and edifies. There is no better study on celluloid of the flawed human condition.