Grizzly Man

No importa lo que esperes de él, obtendrás algo diferente de este documental inusual sobre un hombre inusual. Werner Herzog no adora a los animales ni glorifica a Treadwell, quien se pone en el lugar de su protector. No lo era. Cuando los visitantes del parque tiraban piedras a sus «queridos, queridos, queridos» osos, él miraba cobardemente desde detrás de los arbustos. Treadwell no era más que un tonto que había perdido el instinto de conservación y el contacto con la realidad, y creía entender mejor el mundo de los salvajes que el de los hombres. Herzog lo eligió como material de estudio en el que confronta la personalidad de Treadwell con su propia visión de ella y la de otros. Un documental que invita a la reflexión y que permanecerá en la memoria durante mucho tiempo gracias a su singularidad. (19.03.2009)

Herzog could, and should, shake hands with Jon Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild. The fates they’re following and, after all their subsequent “adaptation" have so many similarities that it’s puzzling. I guess the only difference is that Treadwell’s approach that “all bears are like Yogi Bear" was so far from reality that it became the sad parody of what he believed. I’ve never seen greater disrespect toward the wilderness. On the other hand, if it made him happy, why not? But I don’t think it did, if you look past his “I love you all" act, I’m sure he knew full well the bears couldn’t care less about him. That’s why, in my eyes, the strongest part of the movie is that one single sentence where he admits this. Despite the weaker and more boring moments, often suffering from the talking heads syndrome, I liked Herzog’s dissection of a character with a civilization complex. After all, nothing is ever just black and white. (16.05.2009)

A chilling and touching documentary that tells everything it wants to within its first half, but doesn't get particularly boring after that either. I could have done without the scenes with the watch and the ashes, but otherwise I'm satisfied. Personally, I think one should never lose respect and inhibitions toward animals. A person should never think that he can do anything he sets his mind to, and that as long as he is not afraid of it, he has the right to do it. Such unhealthy arrogance and such reckless selfishness simply cannot possibly end well. Most impressive scenes: The coroner's monologue about bodies and the audio recording, foxes, summoning rain, the last shot. (20.08.2011)

Who else could look into the mind of a man searching for the meaning of his existence in the remote wilderness and whom most of society considers an incomprehensible madman than the director who devoted his most famous films to the examination of complex figures, played by even more complex actors, in conditions far removed from civilisation? Herzog keeps an interpretational distance from his subject and lets the viewer form their own opinion on Treadwell and his predestined fate. There are a couple of emotionally manipulative scenes, unfortunately, but otherwise, Grizzly Man is an extremely appealing documentary window into a man who simply wanted to live differently – and that difference, interesting for some and insane for me, is a sufficiently interesting pretext and starting point for the viewer to immerse themselves and be willing to listen to Herzog’s narration and Treadwell’s footage. Was he crazy? I think he was, but this film managed to bring me closer to his worldview. 85% (30.03.2020)

Werner Herzog ofrece una mirada académicamente factual pero comprensivo y sensible al destino de un hombre que vive en condiciones extremas y se tambalea conscientemente al borde del abismo. Sería erróneo encasillar su compleja personalidad, pero no necesariamente hay que identificarse o simpatizar con sus puntos de vista, aunque sí hay que encontrar fascinante su historia (narrada de forma atractiva por Herzog). Aunque solo sea porque Timothy Treadwell, incluso siendo un documentalista completamente aficionado, tenía un espíritu cinematográfico muy fuerte, cuyo increíble metraje hizo posible esta película en primer lugar. Un espectáculo inesperadamente emotivo. (15.06.2021)