GRIZZLY MAN

Timothy Treadwell was a modern-day naturalist who lived among grizzly bears in the Alaskan wilderness. Returning every summer to the aptly named Grizzly Maze in the Katmai National Park and Reserve, Treadwell isolated himself from humankind to live alone with his beloved bears. He gave them silly names like Mister Chocolate and Aunt Melissa, and proclaimed himself their "protector". For thirteen years he shot endless hours of footage, proving (if nothing else) that he was an an amazing, underrated, and undiscovered cinematographer. His footage may turn out to be history's definitive bear photography, and his film of Alaska's natural beauty is breathtaking. Treadwell appeared on the David Letterman Show and was a favorite guest speaker at elementary schools, nationwide. Nevertheless, there are some who would argue that this enthusiastic (and probably manic) adventurer crossed an invisible line between man and nature, and not only paid the price, but endangered the animals he loved by desensitizing them to human beings. In October 2003, Treadwell died, horribly, at the hands (or paws, as it were) of one of his supposed beneficiaries. His camera was filming, at the time, with the lens cap on, so that only the audio portion of his gruesome death (and that of his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard) was recorded. All that remained of Treadwell and Huguenard was their heads, a portion of their spinal cords, and Treadwell's arm with a still ticking wristwatch attached. Their clothes and other remains were discovered, later the same day, in the stomach of a bear shot by park rangers.
Rumor has it that Treadwell's expeditions received financial backing from movie idol Leonardo DiCaprio, and that the Titanic actor is planning to produce and star in a Hollywood version of the story. The Tinseltown incarnation may already have been trumped by a documentary (Grizzly Man) made by the legendary Werner Herzog.The famous director is no stranger to harsh conditions and manic, obsessed protagonists. While making Fitzcaraldo, he filmed his cast slavishly hauling a ship over a mountain. Legend has it, that he directed maniacal actor Klaus Kinsky at gunpoint. In the case of Grizzly Man, much of his movie was already shot for him in the form of hundreds of hours of Alaskan grizzly bear footage. Herzog lets Treadwell tell the story, himself, through his own photography and self-recorded narrative. For his part, Treadwell comes off like a cross between the Crocodile Hunter, a surfer, and a tv kiddie show host. He breathlessly celebrates the discovery of fresh bear poop ("This was inside her!!!") and cries over a dead bumble bee as if it were a deceased family member. Such actions do little to dispell the theory that the Grizzly Man was a bit loopy. There are funny moments, too, in which Treadwell endears himself to the observer. Praying for rain so the salmon can run, he admits his agnosticism, but evokes "Jesus-boy", Allah, and the "Hindu floaty thing" to bring rain for him and his bears. When he is answered by a thunderous downfall, an awed Treadwell marvels, "I am the Lord's humble servant, Allah's disciple, and the Hindu floaty thing's ... gopher boy!" In a startling scene, two gigantic male grizzlies battle for mating rights while Treadwell calls the play-by-play. He insists that one of the bears is "rope-a-doping" the other (in reference to one of Muhammad Ali's old tactics). There are sweet moments, too, with baby foxes, one of which steals his hat. Treadwell gives chase, cursing and swearing. There is, as well, a particularly disturbing scene featuring an explosive, expletive-filled rant against the government, the park service, and all of mankind. "Animals rule!" he bellows. "Treadwell conquers!" For a moment, he appears to embody the worst stereotype of the so-called eco-warrior.

Herzog allows friends and experts to speak. The friends, typically, share warm memories of their free-spirited pal, while the experts tend to question both Treadwell's mental wellness and the wrong-headedness of inuring bears and foxes to humans.
The audio of Treadwell's death is never played. Herzog listens to it, himself, before giving it to a friend of the slain naturalist. He advises her never to listen to it, and to destroy it lest it become a white elephant in her home.
The underlying theme of Herzog's examination may be best presented in one scene in particular. Treadwell discovers the gnawed-off limb of a bear cub and, believing its mother devoured it out of desperate hunger, he can barely make sense of what has happened. His wide-eyed idealization of the bears (and all of nature) leaves him with no explanation. Here, Herzog (with his serene German accent) interrupts the narrative to supply his own theories about the indifference of nature (and, in particular, bears) to anything but their own hungers and instincts. One of Herzog's experts goes on to explain that it is actually the male bears who will often devour cubs to win back the lactating mother bear's attention for more sex.
We learn, tragically, from her journals, that Amie Huguenard was planning to break up with Timothy Treadwell, but that he had convinced her to come out to the Grizzly Maze with him as a way of strengthening their bond. (Not all alone with the bears, for once, Treadwell met his doom and took an innocent party with him.) Filming a large grizzly diving deep into the water and resurfacing, repeatedly, Treadwell mistakes it for playfulness. In fact, we are told by Herzog, the bear was searching for salmon carcasses on the bottom, because it was hungry and desperate. It was later in the season than was usual for Treadwell, and all of his bear "friends" like Mister Chocolate and Aunt Melissa were in hibernation. The Grizzly Maze was now home to inland bears who had wandered out in search of food. Strangers to Treadwell and unaccustomed to humans, one of them (perhaps the same bear caught "playing" in the water) attacked and killed Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard.

"If I show weakness, if I retreat, I may be hurt. I may be killed. I must hold my own if I'm gonna stay within this land. 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 persevere. I persevere."
- Timothy Treadwell

"I love nature, but against my better judgment."
- Werner Herzog

P.S. I recently rented this DVD and would highly recommend it. You'll be thinking about it for days afterwards.