Grizzly Man (2005)

Let me start by admitting that the film's fascination factor is very high, in general. But don't get me wrong, its content is harrowing, gripping, and sad, yet can be described and both mondo and functionally educational. Werner Herzog himself narrates the epic travels of grizzly bear activist Timothy Treadwell, along with his friend and companion Amie Huguenard, as they spend months at a time in the Alaskan wilderness themselves documenting the plight, and their fascination with, the Alaskan grizzly. Rather than re-recount what happens, here's my take:

I don't tend to dismiss or minimize Treadwell's passion for "his" bears, in fact, it's something to be celebrated on a certain level. A passion his friends and acquaintances will readily and profusely corroborate, and one that comes through in his own words and video diaries. It's quite obvious he felt deeply for those bears — however misplaced those feelings were. As Herzog himself points out on multiple occasions, Treadwell lost the ability to differentiate between humans and the animals he spent time and was infinitely fascinated with. One thing that bothered me about Treadwell's video confessions was the characterization of his presence as "research". Now I have no doubt he believed his observations were genuinely professional, but the reality was that he was simply a layman. An actual expert based on Kodiak Island put this into glaring perspective. His sobering analysis couldn't be more at odds with Treadwell's cavalier behavior. On top of this, even Herzog himself provides a chilling commentary late in the film concerning the very bear that probably killed Treadwell which provides an insight that most would be aware of but Treadwell seemed to miss completely. Or one he ignored.

His attitude also flew in the face of the reality in which he was living; one that manifested into the worst of all possible conclusions. He was pompous and arrogant at times toward the very environment he claimed to hold in the highest regard. Treadwell was clearly manic-depressive, if not a touch insane. Fascination turned to empathy, which morphed into a sort of pity. Treadwell's outbursts toward the Department of Wildlife and his friends and colleagues only fed his mania. Was he someone who never grew up mentally and/or emotionally? Lost in his own world? A daydream believer? There's nothing wrong with having ideals, but hubris can lead to grave mistakes

"No one knows where I am. Even I don't know where I am." – T. Treadwell

I have no doubt that audiences took Treadwell at his word when he declared he would rather die in the wilderness than return to the world he once knew, — those being his time in California — a definitive and self-fulfilling prophecy. In the end though, both his own and Huguenard's death can only be described as tragic. This film has the gravitas to teach as well as mystify, and really should be experienced if you're not faint of heart. The film's final scenes are particularly poignant and sobering. Honestly, I sort of wanted Treadwell's friend and confidante Jewel Palovak to make the audio tape available to Herzog (accompanied by a warning no doubt) but at the same time it's probably best it wasn't. The film stands as a masterwork nonetheless.