gridoon2018
More than a simple wildlife documentary (although it does contain some stunning wildlife footage), "Grizzly Man" is the multi-layered portrait of a complicated man: gentle, persevering, dedicated, naive, delusional, crazy. It's about obsession, about hubris, and ultimately about the voyeuristic nature of filming itself; it is certainly a rare experience to witness audiovisual footage of a man a few hours before his unexpected death, filmed by himself. Werner Herzog documents a story which speaks directly to him, and it shows. If I have one problem with the film, it's the coroner - he plays it a little too theatrical in front of the camera. *** out of 4.
Jor Bornek
We get to know Timothy through his own video footage, as well as interviews with people who knew him, and small accounts of his background. We get to know Timothy as a seemingly "normal" American kid, but also as a troubled youngster who struggled with alcohol. He venture into the wilderness and he find himself to fit better there, alongside bears and foxes. People that were closest to him tells the story of a very charismatic and good hearted guy. Judgement of his choice to live so close to the bears, and also to take his girlfriend with him, ultimately leading to their death, varies. His ex-girlfriend is naturally sad and horrified about the way they died, but at the same time, she says that she respects their choice to live their life like they wanted. Other people judge him more harshly, including the narrator voice. Timothy seems very aware of the dangers of living so close to the bears. He also clearly found something out there in the wilderness, that he did not find in human society. I think this part of his story is relatable. I think human beings lose something by living so secluded from the rest of nature. And Timothy clearly found something out there that was good for him. I do however question his self designated role as protector of the bears. How exactly does he protect the bears from living with them? And from what? I also question his choice of bringing his girlfriend with him. It seems like a strange choice with his awareness of the dangers of living with them. We also get very little information about his girlfriend and their relationship in the documentary. I think that the people that are interviewed, as well as Timothy's own commentaries, highlights more sides of his story, making us able to think for ourselves. What I miss is more understanding for his choice of living with the bears, especially from the narrator voice.
flavia_cj
I must say that I had never heard of this guy until three days ago. Well, I'm Brazilian and Timothy Treadwell is completely unknown in my country (although I believe he must be famous in the United States). Then as I heard of him? To summarize: the internet. I was on youtube watching a video of the naturalist Casey Anderson playing with a brown bear named Bella. So I was reading the page comments, and I saw someone to comment in irony tone: "Don't be another Timothy Treadwell." This immediately aroused my curiosity. Who is this guy? When searching on Google, I found the biography of this man, a supposed passionate naturalist by bears in Alaska, who died tragically eaten by a bear in 2003, along with his girlfriend. Only this information impressed me, and when I found out they had made a documentary about his life and his filming, of course I wanted to watch the film. Well, after finishing seeing "The Grizzly Man" last night, I leave here my main impressions:I can understand the love of Timothy by nature and by the bears, because I also love nature, I also love bears - they are really impressive, beautiful and majestic creatures. But one thing is you love and admire something, another thing is you dangerously invade the wild space, ignoring the natural laws, and ignoring the true nature of bears and their true human nature. Although he recorded impressive scenes, such as the grand struggle of male bears by a female, which show to us the immense power of these animals, Timothy's recklessness and narcissism are evident. Philosophically speaking, I disagree with Timothy and with the Herzog director's view of what is Nature. I don't see nature with the naive and childish view that everything is harmony, peace and beauty, but I don't have this depressing view that everything is pure chaos and sheer destruction. I think the nature is a mixed and combination of both. Yes, I see moments of destruction, cruelty and suffering in it, but I also see moments of beauty, joy and harmony. I think the question is have the wisdom to know, to study and to understand the beautiful and the ugly at the same time.For me, the documentary worked as an unintended comedy. There are sad moments, as the moment when Herzog heard the tape recording when Timothy and his girlfriend were attacked, but most of the time, I found myself crying laughing. The part where Timothy is in ecstasy for see a bear poop is hilarious. The part where a interviewed criticizes him without mercy saying that the bears think him like a mentally retarded also made me laugh. Undoubtedly, Timothy Treadwell was a very bizarre dude, but their relatives and friends are also unintentionally comic figures. I mean, the mother and father, his ex-girlfriend, the "platonic" friend, and the mustache guy in the helicopter who found his remains are creatures as eccentric as Timothy. The only person who seemed more normal next him was Amie, after all, she was afraid of bears and not approached them so dangerously. Unfortunately she hardly appears and remains unknown to us. In fact, this film is not about bears, but about a bizarre dude called Timothy Treadwell.
