Grizzly Man

No matter what you expect from it, you will get something different from this unusual documentary about an unusual man. Werner Herzog doesn’t adore animals or glorify Treadwell, who put himself in the position of their protector. He wasn’t one. When the park visitors threw stones at his “beloved” bears, he cowardly watched from behind some bushes. Treadwell was just a nutjob who lost his sense of self- preservation and contact with reality, deluding himself that he understood the wilderness better than the human world. Herzog chose him as material for a psychological study, in which he confronts Treadwell’s personality with his own opinions and those of other people. Grizzly Man is a thoughtful documentary that will stay in your memory for a long time thanks to its uniqueness. (19.03.2009)

Herzog could, and should, shake hands with Jon Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild. The fates they’re following and, after all their subsequent “adaptation" have so many similarities that it’s puzzling. I guess the only difference is that Treadwell’s approach that “all bears are like Yogi Bear" was so far from reality that it became the sad parody of what he believed. I’ve never seen greater disrespect toward the wilderness. On the other hand, if it made him happy, why not? But I don’t think it did, if you look past his “I love you all" act, I’m sure he knew full well the bears couldn’t care less about him. That’s why, in my eyes, the strongest part of the movie is that one single sentence where he admits this. Despite the weaker and more boring moments, often suffering from the talking heads syndrome, I liked Herzog’s dissection of a character with a civilization complex. After all, nothing is ever just black and white. (16.05.2009)

A chilling and touching documentary that tells everything it wants to within its first half, but doesn't get particularly boring after that either. I could have done without the scenes with the watch and the ashes, but otherwise I'm satisfied. Personally, I think one should never lose respect and inhibitions toward animals. A person should never think that he can do anything he sets his mind to, and that as long as he is not afraid of it, he has the right to do it. Such unhealthy arrogance and such reckless selfishness simply cannot possibly end well. Most impressive scenes: The coroner's monologue about bodies and the audio recording, foxes, summoning rain, the last shot. (20.08.2011)

Who else could look into the mind of a man searching for the meaning of his existence in the remote wilderness and whom most of society considers an incomprehensible madman than the director who devoted his most famous films to the examination of complex figures, played by even more complex actors, in conditions far removed from civilisation? Herzog keeps an interpretational distance from his subject and lets the viewer form their own opinion on Treadwell and his predestined fate. There are a couple of emotionally manipulative scenes, unfortunately, but otherwise, Grizzly Man is an extremely appealing documentary window into a man who simply wanted to live differently – and that difference, interesting for some and insane for me, is a sufficiently interesting pretext and starting point for the viewer to immerse themselves and be willing to listen to Herzog’s narration and Treadwell’s footage. Was he crazy? I think he was, but this film managed to bring me closer to his worldview. 85% (30.03.2020)

Werner Herzog offers an academically factual, yet perceptively sensitive look at the fate of a man living in extreme conditions, and consciously living right on the edge. It would be misguided to pigeonhole his complex personality, however you do not necessarily have to identify with, or sympathize, with his viewpoints, yet you are bound to find his story (engagingly told by Herzog), fascinating. It is intriguing just for the fact that Timothy Treadwell, as a complete amateur documentarian, had a very strong spirit regarding movie making, whose incredible footage made this movie possible in the first place. An unexpectedly emotional experience. (15.06.2021)