Grizzly Man
Directed by Werner Herzog
Reviewed by Catherine MacLennan
Grizzly Man is the documentary about Timothy Treadwell, the crazy guy who hangs out with grizzly bears in Alaska – and gets eaten by them. Is this film yet another artefact of our reality-TV, voyeuristic, schadenfreude times? Or is it something else? It is something else because the director is sympathetic towards his subject, and an attempt is made to understand his actions.
From the very first scene included in the film (Herzog had access to over one hundred hours of film shot by Treadwell - of the bears, foxes, and himself), Treadwell comes across as boyish, funny and kooky, as he introduces the bears in a stream of psychobabble, new age jargon, gang and warrior fantasy:
”Behind me is Ed and Rowdy, members of an up-and-coming sub-adult gang. They’re challenging everything, including me. Goes with the territory. If I show weakness, if I retreat, I may be hurt, I may be killed…For once there is weakness they will exploit it, they will take me out, they will decapitate me, they will chop me into bits and pieces. I’m dead. But so far, I presevere. Presevere. Most times I’m a kind of warrior out here. Most times I am gentle, I am like a flower…Occassionally I am challenged. And in that case, the kind warrior must, must, must become a samurai…And if I am weak, I go down. I love them with all my heart…I’ll be one of them…”
Also striking about the first image is the clarity of the shot (these are not the grainy, blurry homemovies of yesterday) and the vibrancy of the colours, a vibrancy that is consistent throughout the film – the greens of the grass, the browns of the bears and the blues of the mountains. It is an almost paint-by-numbers beauty, a simple beauty, and the idea of a simpler, more genuine life with the bears is what attracted Treadwell.
Herzog makes good use of Treadwell’s hours of shot film (videotape) – the natural imagery as well as Treadwell himself. Treadwell’s filming included his on-the-spot idiosyncratic commentary, as if he was filing daily news reports of his life with grizzlies, though it is unclear if there was an audience for these films, or if the audience was imagined.
Treadwell did sometimes have a real, and appreciative audience – still photographs included in the documentary show the rapt faces of children in a classroom listening to him as he recounted his life with the grizzlies. It’s easy to see how he would be a hit with the kids: the exciting adventure stories of living with bears and foxes, his boyish looks, humour, and his energetic delivery. He also appeared on national television shows, attesting to his growing celebrity.
However, the documentary includes more personal commentary from Treadwell that would not be part of any nature show, and are definitely not suitable for children. Not just the four-letter words, but the despondency he shows in a number of scenes, and crazed rage in a few others (interestingly, Herzog comments, “I have this madness before on a film set”). Treadwell had experienced turmoil in his life – his friends comment that he was sometimes a “troubled” individual. The bears, and his self-appointed mission to “protect” them gave him a sense of meaning and peace: “this is my life and I love it.”
Yes, Treadwell got himself killed, as well as his girfriend. But it wasn’t from a bear that he did know – after his plans had changed, different bears moved into the area. And it is understandable to seek meaning, and people often turn to nature for peace. Just within the documentary, there is certainly evidence of the stupidity, absurdity and pettiness of the “people world” – toursists throwing rocks at a bear to get a photo; Treadwell and his friend having to wear moronic costumes in a ‘theme’ restaurant; competing and getting crushed over not getting a role on a sitcom; the ticket-taker at the airport questioning the validity of his ticket (that sent him fatefully back to Alaska).
He believed he had a deep connection with the creatures of the wild – however, in reality, the relationship was imagined, not reciprocated. Herzog:
”What haunts me is that in all the faces of all the bears that Treadwell ever filmed, I discover no kinship, no understanding, no mercy. I see only the overwhelming indifference of nature. To me, there is no such thing as a secret world of the bears. And this blank stare speaks only of a half-bored interest in food. But for Timothy Treadwell this bear was a friend, a saviour.”