Grizzly Man

Werner Herzog's persistent inquiry into the motivations of human obsession focuses this time on the self-proclaimed "kind warrior" Timothy Treadwell. A passionate wildlife preservationist and grizzly bear devotee, Treadwell lived unarmed among the grizzlies in a remote section of Alaska for 13 summers, and eventually died in a bear attack. He filmed his experiences during his final five years, and Herzog makes use of this footage in a posthumous portrait of a complex, intriguing character. A youthful blond actor turned nature lover, Treadwell is revealed over the course of the film to have been a troubled soul who found solace in the wild, and the existential questions and difficulties he faced in the world were, fascinatingly, worked out on film. Deftly interweaving Treadwell's quiet moments of nature appreciation with meandering introspection and alarmingly hostile rants, Herzog masterfully captures the enigma of the dead man. Herzog has a genuine appreciation of Treadwell's films, as well as sympathy for Treadwell's apparent unease with the world. Much of GRIZZLY MAN's complexity comes in our growing awareness of Timothy's apparent naivety, his need to see himself as a savior, and his sentimentalizing of nature. However, we are left with the impression of someone unafraid to follow his heart and go to any extreme--even death--in search of peace.

Cast:

"Herzog not only tells an incredible story but implies a dark metaphysic of the natural world that makes this film unsettlingly larger than its human subject." -- Glenn Kenny , (Premiere)

"[S]omething unique and unforgettable....Herzog conducts his own expedition into knowing the unknowable..." -- Peter Travers , (Rolling Stone)

"[A] mesmerizing work of disturbing power and unease....Herzog has bushwhacked fearlessly into one man's thorny soul." -- Lisa Schwarzbaum , (Entertainment Weekly)

"It is the rare documentary like GRIZZLY MAN, which has beauty and passion..." -- Manohla Dargis , (New York Times)

"[T]his documentary offers an intimate window into its subject. By using Treadwell's own words, ideas and point of view, Herzog makes audiences feel as if they are poring over a video journal of a tortured soul." -- Claudia Puig , (USA Today)

"[T]his is at once a beautiful nature doc and a fascinating fable about a dangerous state of mind, American innocence." -- Sorina Diaconescu , (Movieline's Hollywood Life)

"[A] fascinating twice over: as a courageously close-up view of Alaskan wildlife, red in tooth and claw, and as an unwittingly self-condemning portrait of the artist as a would-be Tarzan of the Bears." -- Kevin Jackson , (Sight and Sound)

4 stars out of 5 -- "[An] exceptional documentary....[The film] does lend his quest a dignity it might otherwise have lacked." -- Joanna Douglas , (Uncut)

4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] tense and cinematic doc....Equal parts disturbing and hilarious." -- Total Film Staff , (Total Film)

"[A] mature and evenhanded documentary. The film poses more questions than it answers, and has a haunting afterglow..." , (Wall Street Journal)

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