Timothy Treadwell lived with the wild Grizzly bears in Alaska for thirteen summers until he and his visiting girl friend, Anne Huguenard overstayed the usual time Timothy spent there, resulting in them both being attacked and devoured by a Grizzly bear. Grizzly Man, directed by Werner Herzog, incorporates a mix of footage shot by Treadwell over thirteen years, interviews shot by Hertzog with people who knew Treadwell and archival footage. Herzog also narrates parts of the documentary. It is a well made compilation style documentary.
Grizzly Man is a tragic story, a documentary about a self-appointed naturalist who believed he had a special ability to communicate with these ferocious predators who will even eat their own kind. Treadwell named the bears he lived near and basically talked about them like they were big grumpy “Mr Chocolate” Teddy Bears when he gave talks to children. The documentary directed by Werner Herzog begins with footage Treadwell shot of himself with the bears. In these scenes Treadwell talks about his relationship with the bears and how he is able to survive around them by controlling how they react to him.
Early in the documentary it’s revealed that Treadwell and his girl friend Amy Huguenard were discovered dead by the seaplane pilot who came to pick them up. While trying to find the couple the pilot relates how he narrowly escaped the bear who killed and ate the couple. After flying over the area searching some more he spots a human rib cage on the ground and calls for help. Later a forensic expert explains how difficult it was to piece together the bodies from parts, some of which were found in the bears stomach. At this point the documentary begins to look at Treadwell’s life up to the time he died though the people who knew him best. Herzog’s interviews with friends of Treadwell are revealing, insightful and edited into the fabric of the documentary.
According to Herzog a recording of the attack on the couple was recorded somehow while they were killed. Herzog decided it was too graphic and disturbing to use in the documentary.
What emerges is the strange life of Timothy Treadwell and his ultimate fate. This documentary explores the reality Treadwell created for himself. Did he really have some sort of rapport with these wild bears or was he delusional? What made him identify with these wild creatures more than other humans? Grizzly Man isn’t a nature documentary by any means but it does attempt to explore why some humans, even someone like Jane Goodall, would choose to live among wild animals who may do them harm. Grizzly Man may be more of a cautionary story about understanding the realities of nature, predatory animals and man’s relationship with the environment.
Review by James R MARTIN — Documentary Filmmaker, Author
GRIZZLY MAN – A TRUE STORY OF A LIFE GONE WILD – WERNER HERZOG
2005 – 103 Minutes – SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ALFRED P. SLOAN AWARD
TRAILER
Currently available on Netflix and/or Hulu
LINKS – Purchase on Amazon
[amazon_image id=”B007FNZW6W” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Grizzly Man[/amazon_image]
Books by James R Martin
[amazon_image id=”0982702361″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Actuality Interviewing and Listening: How to conduct successful interviews for nonfiction storytelling, actuality documentaries and other disciplines … (Documentary and Nonfiction Storytelling)[/amazon_image]
[amazon_image id=”0982702329″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Create Documentary Films, Videos and Multimedia: A Comprehensive Guide to Using Documentary Storytelling Techniques for Film, Video, the Internet and Digital Media Projects.[/amazon_image]
[amazon_image id=”0982702388″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Listen Learn Share: How & Why Listening, Learning and Sharing can Transform Your Life Experience In Practical Ways[/amazon_image]