A documentary about Timothy Treadwell - a guy who went to Alaska to live side-by-side with grizzly bears, and filmed a huge amount of material on a video camera.
What's the big deal? The world has enough ascetics fighting for the preservation of nature. They enrich biology and popular science programs with unique personnel, they serve as evidence that there are still enough drive, risk-averse personalities among people, they teach the younger generation to care and courage. Why did Herzog’s film about Timothy get such contradictory reviews?
The fact is that this picture is not about nature, and not even about the relationship between man and nature, it is a tape about the man himself, about Timothy. About his life and tragic death, which will be announced in one of the first scenes of the film, the naturalist and his girlfriend were eaten by the very bears for which he seemed to fight.
Some young viewers are in solidarity with the grizzly defender, with his pronounced protest against human civilization. Yes, the kid is very cute, bright, but at the same time completely marginal, like a new generation of hippies. He is unmercenary, which undoubtedly gives his ideas and lifestyle a bit of respect. A very comfortable person to become a banner or a role model for someone, because Timothy goes out of his way to achieve his goal. And what is the true nature of this goal - the admiring Alaskan conservationist unknowingly slipped over the scene.
However, older people, with experience, boring and boring like me, do not agree with the situation unconditionally. Always when watching films about people prone to this or that extreme, you think about the fate of their loved ones, first of all parents, of course, but also friends, and even just acquaintances. The unexpected death of a loved one is perceived by others much more painful and acute than if he dies after a long illness.
But in Grizzly Man, that doesn’t even matter. From the first shot there is a bewilderment about what is happening, because something is wrong with this guy. This will be a bit clearer later on.
I think everyone will take Timothy's departure from civilization in their own way. I will only tell you what I saw, and the director’s hints did not play a special role here, I do not agree with him on everything. And what is important is not what he says behind the scenes, and not even what relatives, friends, acquaintances of the deceased young man say, but what the director edited and published from the footage that Timothy himself took.
On this film, I saw, first of all, an asocialized boy with a very imbalanced psyche, who clearly could not be prevented by medical care. That was later explained. Timothy had a period of unsuccessful attempts to find his niche in society, he wanted to be significant, famous. He had the data for this, but it did not work. It happens, often. The inability to socialize the way he wanted led the young man to complete marginalization in the company of drugs and alcohol. These addictions shake the psyche and, even finding the strength to abandon them, a person can not completely get rid of them, for life remains marked - nervous, twitching, falling into extremes - Timothy falls under this type completely. At the same time, it is open, sometimes just shining, it seems so kind, so glorious, so sincere.
But in his diary he writes that his girlfriend reproached him for ruining everything. And his sincerity is something played... If you pray to God that it will rain for the benefit of animals, do not do it on camera, and especially, do not shoot 15 takes, after each of which you will demonstrate that it did rain. I believe Timothy believes what he says, but he doesn’t. I only see a poor boy who has not found himself among people, who lacks the love of others and self-respect, who needs to leave noticed by others. And I don't see a conservationist, only a boy who plays with unpredictable forces unknown to himself. It is an act of desperation, and with it the illusion that he has managed to break out of a vicious circle. He managed to show himself and shine among famous personalities.
There are reviewers who accuse people around Timothy of not being loved enough. I won't do that. It's not always easy to show love. There must be a desire to accept it. And vanity very often interferes with mutual understanding between loved ones. What happened to Timothy is unknown. His mother still keeps his favorite toy, but Timothy's ashes are with an old friend. Why? There will be many unanswered questions.
Why did this kid live? The footage taken by him is unique, but the technique moves forward in leaps and bounds, and BBC drones, controlled remotely by safe operators, shoot more sophisticated no less interesting episodes from the life of animals. In one of them, a polar bear floating alone in the vast ocean, located in the Red Book, which is unlikely to reach the shore, evokes more sympathy and confidence in what is happening than all Timothy’s statements about the grizzly, which, according to experts, are still far from extinction. As for the protection of nature, yes, someone in the soul of this idea for sure, but in itself, life among bears, according to the workers of the park, is more harmful than useful - the naturalist has taught bears to be afraid of man, and we should be afraid, we really need to beware.
And yet Timothy managed to make a truly beautiful deed - the most important thing in his life he did in the last minutes of her (the audio recording witnessed what happened): when he was already dying himself, he was struggling to save his girlfriend. After all, he was the one who took her here. So was it worth the adventure of two young lives, lost in vanity, out of a desire to stand out, out of pride, out of self-made illusions?
Some people won't like my review. So be it. This film can be interpreted in many different ways, and that's good because Timothy, like any person, is ambiguous. And the director managed to convey this ambiguity very well. The kids are so sorry.
8 out of 10