The Pitch:
Guess what happened to the guy who lived with Grizzly bears?
It turns out this is my first Werner Herzog movie. I
should've realized this. I know Herzog's movies. I've heard them discussed
plenty, and I've never seen any of the movies discussed. I think in the back of
my mind, I just figured there was a lesser known film of his that I saw at some
point, not realizing who made it at the time. As soon as Grizzly Man
began though, I realized this was my first. That voice. I've heard that voice
parodied or imitated many times before, but didn't realize who it was supposed
to be. I didn't know that was Werner Herzog. I just thought of it as the
"generic nihilistic documenatrian" voice (which isn't incorrect). So
yeah, this is where I admit that I need to get to more Herzog in the future.
Onto the movie...
I didn't think I'd be able to watch a documentary
about a more insane person than Free Solo star Alex Honnold, then I saw
that Grizzly Man was available on Amazon Prime. Less than a week removed
from seeing Road, I figured I should make it an insane trifecta. Look, I like
documentaries about communities or everyday life as much as the next guy, but
the ones I really love are stories that I wouldn't believe if they weren't
true. More often than not, it's not the feat that I have trouble believing;
it's the person. As incredible as the whole thing is in Man on Wire,
it's Phillippe Petit, not his high wire walk atop the Wold Trade Center, that I
wouldn't believe in a movie. In The Act of Killing, I don't have trouble
accepting that the Indonesian genocide happened; I'm in disbelief over how the
bloodiest executioners seem unaware of the savagery of their acts. If someone
tried to made the Timothy Treadwell story into a movie, I wouldn't have trouble
with the idea that he survived for so long among the bears; I'd be bothered by
Jake Gyllenhall's Steve-Erwin-by-way-of-Tommy-Wiseau, flower child performance,
even when I found out afterwards that it was pretty accurate to how Treadwell
really was.
Treadwell is just
a weird dude, and Herzog does right by him. Grizzly Man isn't strictly a
biography of Treadwell. It's Herzog putting together the puzzle that is Timothy
Treadwell, despite missing several pieces. Treadwell's death is mentioned and
discussed early, so it doesn't hang over the whole movie as some sort of twist.
We don't learn about his past until late in the film either. The focus is on
what we can learn from his footage with the bears.
A couple things
did irk me, and I believe they are Werner Herzog staples. Herzog waxes poetic a
lot and, even though he barely shows up on camera, doesn't ever let the
audience forget that he's driving the film, . He also has a tendency to drive
interviews. Several people felt more like they were performing for him than
answering questions.
I'd like to know
if Herzog would've shown footage of Treadwell being killed if it existed, or if
he would've played the audio that does exist, had he been allowed to. Hopefully
not. No one needs that. I know there was a time in my life when I would've been
curious to see or hear that. I've looked up the R. Budd Dwyer footage before
and have seen pictures of some things I wish now that I hadn't. Pretty much any
time I've stumbled onto something violent and real like that, I've regretted
it. Just hearing Herzog describe what was on the recording of Treadwell was
enough for me.
Grizzly Man isn't as
viscerally unbelievable as Free Solo. It doesn't have the celebration of
Man on Wire. There isn't even the "at least no one died"
relief of watching Roar. It's more quiet and reflective. Kind of
haunting. I liked the movie, even though it was emotionally draining.
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend
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