Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Grizzly Man (2005)



I have to tell you about this amazing documentary I watched. It's called Grizzly Man and it's the true story of Timothy Treadwell and his love of grizzly bears.  He seems to equate the bears with the cuddly teddy bears of his childhood.  However, real grizzly bears are highly dangerous carnivores that will not hesitate to eat a human being. 
The Grizzly Bear should be respected for its strength and ferocity.  It should never be a pet or domesticated in any way.  It should never be forced to perform tricks in a circus.  It should never be attacked and milked for its bile on a farm.  The bear belongs in its natural habitat in the wild of Alaska where it can be free to run and hunt. 
A few months out of the year, Timothy goes to live in Alaska with these carnivores.  The people interviewed in this film all think he is crazy for going up there year after year. Eventually, he's going to get eaten by a bear.
Guess what happens. He gets eaten by a bear.  One year, he is staying in his usual spot in Alaska in a tent with his girlfriend.  The video camera's microphone just happens to be on during the incident.  So there is audio, not video, recording of what happened.  The audio is never played during the documentary as to respect their families.  Of course, I was curious and looked up the original police report and found the audio files. What I heard was the horrific screams of a man and woman clearly being attacked by a bear. 
What makes this documentary great is that it provides a glimpse into the life of a person who loved nature and wanted to share his passion with others. He often taught classes at elementary schools and shared the same childlike wonder of animals and the natural world as the young students did.  He just was not responsible for his enthusiasm and misjudged the ferocity of the wild bears.  I give this documentary an 8/10.

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