‘…in all the faces of all the bears that Treadwell ever filmed, I discover no kinship, no understanding, no mercy…’
I’ve never really considered the distinction between documentary filmmaker and documentary film. All those serial killer docs on Netflix, entertaining though they are, don’t seem to have much distinction in terms of who’s behind the camera. Anyone could be directing those things. The subject matter is fascinating, but there is also a built in formula for those shows. Timothy Treadwell, the eponymous grizzly man himself, is just as self involved, misguided and ridiculous as Joe Exotic. The difference is that the makers of Tiger King treated Exotic like he treated his tigers, poking at them and exploiting them until eventually he bit back. Master director Werner Herzog takes a wholly different approach with Treadwell…
Timothy Treadwell is a… I dunno… bear enthusiast? ‘Conservationist’ would be a stretch. He just loves bears, almost as much as he loves himself. Treadwell spent his life documenting the animals that he adores and capturing some, frankly astonishing, footage. Until eventually, one of the bears had had enough of Treadwell’s shit and decided to eat him. As bears are want to do. The first great decision that Herzog makes here is to give his audience this information early doors. It would have been so easy to build up to Treadwell’s mauling and then reveal it in the third act. Instead, Herzog’s presents this aspect of the story matter of factly, this man was eventually killed by a bear because of course he was.
The other ace in the pack is Herzog’s own narration. This makes Attenborough look like James Corden. Herzog’s spellbinding prose, admittedly enhanced by his outrageous accent, is truly as mesmerising as anything that we actually see on screen. His ruminations on life, death and the cold indifference of nature are worth the admission price alone.
Unlike other gonzo filmmakers like Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock, Herzog never lets his own intrusions into the world of his subject feel self indulgent or forced, instead, he offers the perfect soundtrack to a story a guy, some bears, and a distorted vision of the American Dream.