‘Grizzly Man’: Deconstructing the man behind the myth
Werner Herzog is famously extreme in his approach to filmmaking, requiring an enormous amount of resilience and grit to fund the types of stories he is most fascinated with, never shying away from subject matter that has the potential to put him in harm’s way or end his life. He creates a dream-like world that focuses on people who have become disillusioned by outlandish quests, with the director existing side-by-side with these characters as the singularity of an all-consuming goal absorbs them.
There is no limit or story too outlandish for Herzog. Moreover, the harsh conditions surrounding the creation of films lead to unbelievable stories about the perseverance of the human spirit and those who push themselves to the edge of their sanity. The director also does everything in his power to capture these stories, whether selling his own shoes to buy fish to feed his crew or continuing with an interview despite being shot.
However, while his movies are not for the faint-hearted, and most of them have not reached mainstream audiences, one film surprisingly worked its way into popular discourse due to its portrayal of the controversial Timothy Treadwell. A character who had sparked simultaneous levels of outrage and reverence as a result of his lifelong ambition to live amongst the wild bears of Alaska.
Treadwell devoted his life to one strange and specific quest: convincing himself that the wild bears of Alaska needed his help to survive. So, he lived in the mountains to support their survival. He lived almost entirely alone in the wilderness with nothing but a video camera, documenting his everyday routine and delivering impassioned speeches about his protection of nature.
Grizzly Man is a collection of the tapes that Treadwell filmed during his time in Alaska. Herzog adds interviews with people who both supported and opposed his work alongside his own poignant commentary on Treadwell that adds new layers of meaning to the images. While his quest seems innocent and fairly harmless, wild grizzly bears are not known for living peacefully alongside humans; therefore, many warned Treadwell against the dangers of his mission.
The documentary is overshadowed by the knowledge that Treadwell was tragically killed by these bears, with the footage slowly building towards his eventual demise as he lovingly records the creatures that took his life, blissfully dismissive of the threat they posed to his life.
By trying to tame something innately wild and viewing himself as equal to the bears, Treadwell was tampering with the force of nature itself, crazed by the impossibility of a fruitless mission by convincing himself that he was essential to the survival of these bears. Weaving his video diaries with interviews about his personal life, Herzog points towards the many probabilities, suggesting that Treadwell was both a troubled man driven by extreme hubris and pain as well as a pure soul who was motivated by an entirely selfless pursuit.
But while Herzog presents us with a wealth of insider information about Treadwell, perhaps what is most impactful is the meaningful subtlety of Herzog’s commentary, adding layers of insights that carefully thread larger questions and add a level of poetry to the haunting archival footage. Herzog deliberates on the weighty subject matter, reflecting on the relationship between nature, humanity and violence, drawing parallels between Treadwell’s horrific death and the necessity of chaos and murder innate to the balance on Earth.
While it begins as a light-hearted fairy tale-esque story about a man who went to live with the bears, it evolves into a disturbing cautionary tale about someone who was unable to deal with their demons, and so they abandoned society entirely in pursuit of the kind of spiritual nourishment and comfort that can only come from the great outdoors. He sought community with the bears due to his inability to understand people and those who hurt him. Herzog acknowledges the flaws within Treadwell’s plan and personal philosophy in a sensitive way, contrasting his crazed rants about the failings of the park rangers with loaded glances from experts and family members who condemned his work, striking a balance between compassion for Treadwell while also highlighting the devastating consequences of his madness.
Despite the fact that Treadwell remained mostly alone during his time in Alaska, he later brought his girlfriend with him to the mountains, with the couple both being killed by the same bear during his final trip. Treadwell had been filming a segment of his video diary at the time, with his camera left rolling to record his brutal death. Nothing but the sound of his attack was captured, with Herzog remaining as the only person to hear the recording. He describes it as a sound that no one should ever hear, with the documentarian looking visibly shaken after hearing the awful final screams of Treadwell and his partner, Amy.
Grizzly Man is imbued with innocence and tragedy, capturing the final fate of Treadwell and his inability to see himself or his dreams for what they truly were, becoming blinded by an unfathomable mission as he embraced the similarities between humans and wild animals while ignoring the glaring differences. Everything he devoted his life to became overshadowed by the overwhelming violence of the final act, with Herzog creating a beautiful yet devastating portrait of one man and his all-consuming love for something that could never truly love him back.
