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kcremer [ 9.0 ]
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Sad, happy, poignant, funny, tragic...this film put me through the gamut. This is an important movie, too (unless you're one of those close-minded, ultra-conservative, don't-give-a-fuck-about-animals-or-the-environment-as-long-as-I-got-me-my-guns, ignorant wastes of life), as it shows that the perils of nature may sometimes be preferable to those of modern society. I would almost rather risk my life habitating around unpredictable animals to escape the insanity of forever having to deal with the Red State disciples of Jesusland.
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DokBrowne [ 9.5 ]
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Beautiful, captivating, and emotionally overwhelming - what more could you want from a documentary? I admit I haven't watched a large share of them in my life...I tend to prefer fictional films, which might say something about my shallowness as a person, but in this case, it occurred to me with some astonishment that no other movie in 2005 shook up my heart and soul like this remarkable true story. Could be because I'm an avid animal lover myself (although nowhere near as dedicated as Timothy Treadwell) and was touched by this unique examination of the relationship between man and beast, specifically the attachments we tend to form with them in spite of, as Herzog says late in the film, their probable disinterest in us altogether. This sounds gay, but it's kinda like a tragic love story - yeah, okay, maybe we're supposed to be mostly just scholastically curious about Treadwell's obsession (despite many flourishes, Herzog seems to keep trying to distance himself from sympathizing with Treadwell) and the awe of both his accomplishments (in dealing so fearlessly with deadly bears) and his fate, but as I came to understand and appreciate his love for animals and disdain for his own race, the more sad and lovely his story became. You could say that he was putting on a show with his multiple takes and apparent narcissism, but that just seems like part of his personality, really. I believe he was sincere about everything he said, and I admire his efforts toward preserving the animals. There's hardly anything more heartbreaking than poaching and animal cruelty, I think, and if you need proof, just watch the passages where he interacts with the foxes and tell me there's any good reason for hunting such adorable and relatively harmless critters. It'd be like trying to kill your own pet dog.
Anyway, I'm getting off track. I keep worrying that I'm taking the movie TOO seriously; obviously, by the music and the elegiac approach to Treadwell's death, Herzog wants there to be an emotional connection, but I get the feeling that he relates to Treadwell more as the archetypal audacious madman on whom Herzog bases all his films than for his specific goals and values. Which is fine and respectable and the proper approach to take (I mean, it resulted in this terrific film regardless), but I wound up drawing more from Treadwell's humanity and his exact feelings and actions. It's a crucial difference between this and the thematically similar "Fitzcarraldo", a stunning example of the possibilities of filmmaking (as well as a potent narrative about Herzog's classic crazed man on a mission), but ultimately only capable of being so good without allowing us to invest ourselves in his quest. In a way, THAT should have been the documentary and "Grizzly Man" the work of fiction - "Fitzcarraldo" tells of an extraordinary undertaking with simple precision, whereas "Grizzly Man" revels unforgettably in the emotional weight of the undertaking. And therein lies its power, basically. It's a haunting movie, and in more ways than I have thusly described.
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jeff_v [ 8.5 ]
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The Man-versus-nature conflict gets a twist
when a man tries to revert to nature, and the natural world consumes him (in more ways than one).
It would've been an exercise in self-sploitation, ala Tarnation, were it not for Herzog's organizing perspective, which adds a crucual critical distance. He's not making fun of Treadwell --he takes him very seriously.
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| Weighted Rating | : 7.8 |
| No. Ratings | : 8 | |
| No. Reviews | : 4 | |
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