Review of Grizzly Man

Werner Herzog has created an outstanding documentary feature, adeptly letting Timothy Treadwell's work speak for itself. Herzog interjects his own opinions only on occasion and makes no attempt to demonize or rehabilitate Treadwell's complicated legacy. The footage of the grizzlies is amazing, something far more intimate (for better and for worse) than anything I have ever seen in other documentary footage. It is almost beyond belief that Treadwell lasted 13 years in Alaska among these bears before he finally met his end. He had deluded himself into thinking that he had earned (or been given by God?) some kind of special immunity from harm among these animals. What complicates this delusion is the fact that he knew he had to behave as a "gentle warrior" among the grizzlies in order to fend off their occasional aggressive maneuvers. This description, although somewhat romanticized, at least acknowledges a rational need for some form of protection among the bears. Treadwell decides to camp in the heart of the "Grizzly Maze" almost as a means of proving his special ability to survive the dangers that would no doubt capture and claim ordinary men. He dares the wilderness to take his life---and it does. I agree with Herzog's decision not to play the audio recording of the attack. Seeing the expression on the ex-girlfriend's face as Herzog listens to the tape himself is very poignant. Herzog, however, seems to grandstand a bit when he counsels the woman to destroy the tape and never listen to it. The woman should be allowed to make up her own mind what to do with the tape and does not need Herzog's or anyone else's advice in that regard. However, this is a minor quibble against so many skillful moments brought to life in Herzog's film. On a final note, I think that Treadwell missed his calling---he was definitely a Fox Man rather than a Grizzly Man! Those foxes adored him!