Lord I do not want to be hurt by a bear
No this site is not turning into animal planet. It’s just coincidence I watched two animal related movies this week :). The Grizly Man is a documentary on Timoty Treadwell. For 13 years Treadwell lived amongst the Grizzly bears in Alaska during the summer. The movie is a collection of Treadwell’s own footage he shot during the last few years of his life and interviews by the director of the movie Warner Herzog.
In the fall of 2003 Treadwell and his girlfriend were killed by a bear, which made the news all over the world at the time. Overall the documentary is well done, you see TT talking with the bears (he even gave them names) and the interviews with people he knew are nice and informative, though some are a bit too emotional for my taste. This documentary isnt perfect but it’s very enjoyable nevertheless. I love the endearing moments, like chasing his pet fox who stole his cap or the one where he talks to Chocolate, one of his favorite bears.
There are also some scenes in it, that could have been left out. The most scary guy in this documentary is the coroner who examined the remains of TT and Amie. He appears in his lab for two scenes in the movie, with a really weird freakish look in his eyes. At first he’s standing next to a large coffin type metal case saying “Timothy and Amie’s remain came in one of these large metal cans” I think we could have done without the dramatism. Also the other scene where he keeps repeating Amie was such a hero for staying with her boyfriend while he was being attacked (apparently she banged him on the head with a fry pan). Who knows what you do in a situation like that ? Does that make someone a hero ? Apparently in this guy’s book.
Another Belgium bear watcher who visits Alaska regularly was on dutch radio a few times commenting on this movie (his name escapes me at the moment) said that it made Timothy look too much like some kind of idiot. Well I got to agree with that. That’s probably because Herzog picked the most bizarre footage from Treadwell’s archive. Someone who survived 13 years amongst these wild animals (“they can kill me any moment if I am not careful” Treadwell said himself).
It’s obvious though from the footage and the interviews that Treadwell went a little overboard at the end. He was becoming less careful, and more and more hostile to other people. Also he keeps talking about getting killed by a bear, almost like a selffullfilling prophacy. In his death though, he certainly got more attention for him and his bears in Alaska than he ever did in his life, which is kind of ironic, but hey, that’s life !
I agree with what you said. Tredwell was out there. but he did have a passion for what he believed in .Its do bad he had to loose his life and his girlfreinds life to proof a point.
Indeed, and somehow I got the feeling after watching the movie that was sort of inevitable :(.