Grizzly Man



Grizzly Man (2005) is Werner Herzog's absolutely compelling documentary about Timothy Treadwell, a self-proclaimed protectors of the bears in a nature reserve in Alaska. For years Treadwell camped in the habitat and interacted with the bears -- until he and his girlfriend were attacked and eaten by a bear. The last couple years of his life Treadwell shot dozens of hours of footage of his time in the reserve, and it's from this footage that Herzog used as the basis of his documentary. Herzog also interviews people who knew Treadwell, and talks to the authorities who investigated his death.



This isn't any sort of objective documentary. Herzog often lets us know what he thinks about Treadwell's beliefs and why he was wrong, and he even inserts himself into the story at one point. Treadwell's footage, even if it was take under inadvisable conditions, is fantastic. This was certainly the best documentary I've seen recently, so needless to say it didn't even get a nomination for the Oscar in the documentary category of the Academy Awards. Do they actually go out of their way to find the best film every year and exclude it? The Academy's list of snubbed documentaries is getting to be ridiculously comprehensive.

Posted: Mon - February 6, 2006 at      

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