Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man (2005)

Timothy Treadwell immersed himself in the habitat and world of bears; it proved to be his undoing. 2005's Grizzly Man, narrated and directed by famed German director Werner Herzog, profiles Treadwell's adventurous life and horrifying death at the hands of the very bears he sought to protect. He was an idealistic and self-styled savior of bears who spent thirteen summers in the vast expanses of national parks in Alaska. In so doing, he surreptitiously camped in forbidden areas and disobeyed rules about interactions with animals, all the while capturing his fanciful misadventures on film. On or about October 4, 2003, Treadwell, and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were killed by a bear.

From Treadwell's many hours of self-shot footage, Herzog assembled the bulk of his documentary, which is, quite simply, fascinating. At times stern, at times understanding, Herzog, as narrator, paints a striking psychological portrait of Treadwell. He sympathizes with Treadwell the amateur filmmaker but also appears baffled by Treadwell's willingness to ignore the potential for peril. Treadwell was certainly no nature or bear "scholar" in the formal sense of the word. He had no sponsor, no grants, no Ph.D. dissertation to complete on those subjects. But he wielded a strange and disarming charisma that no doubt made those he encountered forget, at least for a moment, that he had no formal education or credentials. He seemed to need to save the bears, not just for their own purported sake, but for that of himself, as well. He craved not just the mission, but his status as missionary to the bear world. The film chronicles his quest for affirmation (of himself, of his viewpoint, of his place in the world) and how it ultimately led to his and Huguenard's deaths in late 2003.

Treadwell's bizarre behavior, and his justifications for it, prompt serious questions which can now never be answered. Why did he fixate on his self-appointed mission to save bears? What was the basis for his belief that bears were unsafe in federally protected national parks? Why did he risk his life (and that of Huguenard, his girlfriend) in his overzealous commitment to that task? Why did he portray himself as being alone in his video footage when he was with her during his last summer visit? Were these treks really about saving the bears or about finding himself? What was the source of his paranoia, which prompted him to hide from other park visitors and spy on those he thinks are there to thwart his mission? What kind of a person spends five minutes effusively thanking a small fox for being his friend? We'll never know.

Although Grizzly Man certainly provides a sense of who Timothy Treadwell was in the years preceding his death, there is little information about how he became that person. He had changed his surname, changed professions, and generally lived the life of a dilettante until taking up the cause of bears. Unfortunately, How did he become the man that he was? How was he influenced? Herzog offers brief interviews with Treadwell's parents (Val and Carol Dexter) but we never learn what made him become the self-styled ambassador to the bear world, perhaps because there was no meaningful way to establish such facts.

As fate would have it, Treadwell's video camera was running at the time of his death and captured the audio of his and Huguenard's last moments. The lens cap had not been removed meaning that, thankfully, there is no video footage of the two terrible deaths. At the time of its release, many reviewers remarked upon Herzog's decision not to air the audio of the last moments of Treadwell and his girlfriend (who was also killed). In the film, Herzog shows himself on screen listening to the audio himself on headphones, and viewers gauge his troubled and then horrified reaction. (He instructs Jewel Palovak, Treadwell's former girlfriend who now possesses Treadwell's many video cassettes, to cut off the tape before it finishes.).

Immediately thereafter, the following exchange takes place:

WERNER HERZOG: Jewel, you must never listen to this.

JEWEL PALOVAK: I know, Werner, I'm never going to.

WH: And you must never look at the photos that I've seen at the coroner's office.

JP: I will never look at them.

WH: Yeah.

JP: They said it was bad. Now you know why no one is going to hear it.

WH: I think you - you should not keep it. You should destroy it.

JP: Yeah?

WH: I think that's what you should do.

JP: Okay.

WH: Because it will be the white elephant in your room all your life.

Herzog's advice is sage. It should be followed. If not, Palovak might someday compel herself to listen to it, which would be extraordinarily regrettable. But it apparently wasn't followed. In June of 2005, at a panel discussion on the film held during the Silverdocs Film Festival in Washington D.C., Herzog and Pavolak were asked what became of the audiotape. They replied:

Jewel Palovak: I didn't take Werner’s advice in the film [to destroy the tape] so I still have it. I think it may have historical value. It’s also possible that a forensics expert can hear other things on the tape that we didn't.

Werner Herzog: Jewel has physically separated herself from the tape—it’s now in a safe deposit box. I remember when we filmed that scene Jewel was worried that the screams would leak out of the earphones I was wearing and be picked up by the boom mike. But I promised her that if I detected even the slightest sound I would erase it from the film’s soundtrack. She trusted me. No one will ever hear that tape.

(Excerpts courtesy of this transcript by John Suozzo of the DC Film Society).

Certainly, from a narrative standpoint, the airing of the ghastly audio would have overshadowed the story of Treadwell's life and transformed the documentary into a Faces of Death for the Sundance set. What is interesting is how Herzog uses the horrifying audio track as an opportunity to define his view of the role of the documentarian. Certainly, it is a dramatic moment; the viewer watches Herzog as he listens but also Palovak, Treadwell's friend and former lover, as she watches him listen to something she (rightly) can't bring herself to hear. But if the audio tape has the potential to overshadow the narrative, then why do more than mention that it exists? Does Herzog do his own documentary a disservice by featuring himself listening to something which by all accounts should not continue to exist? Does it become an unnecessary distraction, indicated by all of the reviews which fixated upon that decision?

Necessarily, a documentary film-maker must serve as a filter; he or she must take an entire universe of information (in Herzog's case, all of Treadwell's many, many hours of video footage and the accompanying original interviews) and distill it down into a completed project of generally less than two hours. Complicating the matter further is that Palovak is the co-executive of the documentary (perhaps because she is the owner or possessor of all of Treadwell's footage.). But is it the role of the documentarian to offer wisdom to the subjects of his documentary, especially when it deals with the destruction of part of the record of the subject of the documentary? In so doing, has Herzog stepped into the film as a participant in its narrative, rather than just a chronicler of events and interviewer? At what point does the documentary filmmaker cross a line and begin to influence his subjects more than he should? Should the documentarian befriend his subjects and offer them helpful advice or should he monitor them and prompt them for insight? Perhaps there are risks in allowing one of the subjects of your documentary become its co-executive producer (although likely, without Palovak's participation, there might be no documentary). Or, perhaps, when a director decides that something is not worth including in a documentary, it should truly be omitted.

UPDATE (12/6/07): Several weeks ago, I had contacted Dr. Franc Fallico, Alaska's chief medical examiner and the coroner who performed the autopsy on Treadwell. In the film, he provided a particularly dramatic interview to Herzog for the documentary. I very recently received Dr. Fallico's response to my missive, and I have included the unedited Q&A below.

1. Looking back two years, after all of the press and publicity that the film received, what do you think of it and your role therein? Is there anything that you feel was cut, or that you would like to add, that was not included in your portions of the film?

I like the role and I think the Director did a great job getting the dramatic effect from me, although at the time I didn't realize that. I thought I would act in a more formal manner, like a conventional medical examiner, but Herzog's direction was essential in making me more of a dramatic and expressive actor.

2. Did Mr. Herzog give you any special instructions on how to tell the tale of Mr. Treadwell's last moments? Your delivery was vivid and dramatic, and I was curious about the context of that scene.

Yes, his direction emphasized the depth of Treadwell's personality and confusion between his being the man of nature and almost "becoming"the bear. Treadwells' choosing of his fate by transgressing from thes afety of the observing human to (almost) becoming the bear was suggested.

3. What lessons can be learned from the film and Mr. Treadwell's experiences depicted therein?

Lessons include the fact that Nature, especially in the Alaskan wilderness, can become very unforgiving, and the hunter can quickly become the hunted. Another lesion is the fate of going for a ride with the forces of a strong seductive personality like Treadwell's, and being dragged into an impossible situation that can't be controlled (Ms. [Huguenard].)

4. Finally, do you believe that Ms. Pavolak, Mr. Treadwell's former girlfriend and the current owner of the audio tape which captured Mr. Treadwell's death, should heed Mr. Herzog's advice and destroy it?

No, I don't think she should destroy the tape. The tape is awful but its mere possession is not sinful or wrong in any way. It is my understanding that the tape was somehow put on the Internet, so it's out there anyway. I have no information about that, and I certainly did not do it. Don't know who did.

It appears that Herzog coached Dr. Fallico to tell the tale of Treadwell's death in the fashion that he did. While this may be a mechanism of reaching some semblance of truth, it seems apparent that Dr. Fallico would not have shared his knowledge in that fashion without prompting by the documentarian.

18 comments:

Steven said...

No man films obsession quite like Werner Herzog.

Anonymous said...

Other than moral, Puritan, considerations, there's no reason the tape should not be made available. Herzog's exclusion of the audio from the film greatly diminished the power of the film. Unless, of course, by hearing the audio, one realizes that TT was made ultimately ridiculous (cancelling his current hero status) by the fact that he misjudged and misplayed an important event in bear behavior, in spite of his many protestations that he "got" the bear. I guess we'll never know. Herzog *used* the tape and Jewel P. to further the interest in his film. No other reason

Anonymous said...

Treadwell's bizarre behavior and sense of obsession with the bears can easily be traced back to his addictive personality. He was a heroin addict in the 80s and spent months getting clean. However, many addicts who are "clean" have simply replaced the alchohol or drugs with something else. In his case, it was the cause of "saving the bears".

Within the first few minutes of footage of Tim, it's pretty easy to see that this is a unique person, but also someone who is a bit skewed from normality. His paranoia and reclusiveness are also signs of mental problems, most likely leftovers from years of drug and alchohol abuse. It's important to note that long-term chemical addictions can physically and permanently change the brain chemistry, taking a normal, sane individual and making them mentally ill. Timothy Treadwell is a classic example of a clean addict who is charming, seductive, engaging and ultimately dangerous because their reality is not fully emmeshed in normalcy. It's especially dangerous when others are drawn into their world with no back-up plan for escape when their lives are threatened.

"johnny" rodrigues said...

i think if anyhing should be drawn from this film was this was a man who wanted to be famous and probably endngered these animals there is a poinent scene where so called "poachers" are fishing and one of his bears comes up to them and they throw stones at the bear to get it to leave and he gets enraged. if they were trulu evil they would have shot there guns this was someone deluded himself

Good Thoughts said...

IT NEVER SEIZES TO AMAZE ME OF THE IGNORENT, SELF RIGHTOUS, PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY. I TRULY BELIEVE TIMOTHY TREDWELL WAS A GIFT FROM GOD, AND THE GOOD PEOPLE SAW THIS;, THE BAD DID NOT(OF COURSE!) I NEVER MET HIM, ONLY HIS FILM AND STILL PHOTOS! THAT OF COURSE IS ENOUGH WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH A KIND, GENTLE, FULL OF LOVE FOR OUR OTHER CHILDREN FROM GOD! I KNEW WHEN I SAW THIS DOCUMENTRY BY CHANCE ONE DAY ON ANIMAL PLANET THIS MAN WAS TRULY BLESSED. I HAVE NEVER SEEN A BEAR LET ALONE DOZENS FOLLOW HIM, TOUCH HIM, AND WANT NOTHING FROM HIM BUT HIS PRESENCE. TIM WANTED NOTHING MORE THAN TO HAVE THE PRIVLEDGE AND THE HAPPINESS TO BE AROUND THEM. HE DID NOT DESERVE TO BE TAKEN AWAY IN THE WAY HE DID. THOSE WHO HAVE SAID HE DID ARE AS HEARTLESS AND HAVE NO IDEA HOW GOD'S NATURE TRULY WORKS. I WILL SAY TIM DID MAKE THOSE FEW MISTAKES THAT COST HIM HIS LIFE. PEOPLE DIE EVERY DAY BECAUSE OF THOSE MISTAKES THEY MAKE. THE BEARS AND THE FOXES WERE BLESSED WITH TIM, AND THEY KNEW IT. I FEEL THEY WHO KNEW HIM ARE FOREVER LOST WITHOUT HIM. THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER TIM TREDWELL, HE IS TRULY AN ANGEL FROM GOD1

Unknown said...

timothy treadwell at least got clean. At least he had a passion. He knew very well that his passion would kill him. Did he have a deathwish? Yes, and he chose bear nr 141 over heroin. Timmy like it wild. Why ridicule him for doing what he believed in?

Anonymous said...

Most people are pathetically in bondage to a society, both to its infrastructure and its notions. We are afraid of walking away from home in the middle of the night, to say nothing of living alone among bears for even an hour. It's our own cowardice and lack of passion that tries to justify itself by making TT and his aims ridiculous.
Thank you, Timothy, for your life and death.

Unknown said...

Hes guilty of murder. If he wanted to be wreckless then so be it. Theres nothing anyone could of done. But to bring Amie Huenard into such a predicament and to face her death the way she did is horrific. She didn't even have a can of bear spray to have a fighting chance.

Anonymous said...

He was a narcosis, and his stupid girlfriend was a co-dependent and died because if him. He never even acknowledged she was with him in his films!!!. He never even gave her bear spray to defend herself in case his stupid actions caused things to get out of control (like they did). It was never about the bears. If it was about the bears he would have stressed,and shown ppl to stayed a safe distance so the bears wouldn't feel comfortable around humans, and get close enough to attack. Attacking humans leads to killing the bears. It was always about HIM. How close HE could get to them. How HE was the only one who "understood them". How HE could ignore the rules of the parks. He was dumbass who died in a very predicable way, and now will cause many more deaths because ppl think its ok to act like he did toward wildlife.

Vincent chirafisi said...

I believe that Tim was a person who was deeply trying to find a place where he felt wanted, needed and accepted in a most blatant manner. He seemed euphoric when in the wilderness out there living with the bears who he perceived to be his kin and he their protector and savior.
It seems as though if he could have crawled inside of a bear and lived inside of that bear, then thats where Timothy would finally find his "garden of eaden".
In a most macabre sort of way he accomplished just that. Im certain from just the little bit that I've become acquainted with learning of the man, that IF he were at the time of being attacked, was able to somehow separate himself from the savage and obscene pain and the brutal trauma of feeling his body, every bone muscle and ligament being eaten alive by this savage beast...Timothy would have savoured sudden intrusive manner in which this rogue beast came creeped into his campsite from the blackness of the cold dark, damp and rain soaked night. The smell of its wetness from rain soaked musky thick fur. Its massively powerful bone crushing jaws and to finally taste its very saliva and smell its hot putrid breath mixed with his own blood. I'm positive that Timothy would have preferred to become fully digested and be naturally processed and deposited into the ecosystem. onto and ultimately, into the very place in which most desperately strived to be part of remain forever. A deathwish? or a goal in life!....

Anonymous said...

It amazes me that people continue to blame Timothy Treadwell for Amy's death. She was an educated woman whose chosen profession was a physician's assistant. I understand that she read Treadwell's book about living with the Grizzly's and was intrigued by his book and I assume intrigued by him as well and contacted him. This was the beginning of their relationship. As an intelligent woman in her mid thirties she chose to spend time camping in Alaska with Treadwell. If she had wanted bear spray for protection she could have bought some. If Treadwell objected to the bear spray then she could have chosen to ignore him or not join him. It's called free will.

ResGestae said...

Love the title, Grizzly Man, but killed by a brown bear.

That said, re the tape, the problem that some of us have is that Herzog is trying to send the message of how vicious it all was, except nothing but the tape can do that properly. The gal should otherwise hear the tape, since hopefully if she did, she wouldn't repeat those incredibly stupid remarks that she made after the event. She needs to learn that we can have some love and sympathy for the bears without ever failing to forget that they are dangerous predatory animals best observed from a distance. And that's better for them and better for us. And so she and her crowd get the point, two bears were killed as a result of his stupidity. The bears could do without such.

Lastly, re the Anon comment from June 5, 2015, sorry, but your "hero" doesn't get off that easy. Being a physician's assistant and otherwise intelligent generally doesn't mean that you know squat about bears. He was the self-professed "expert". So was his responsibility to act responsibly. He didn't. Should not have only had spray, should also have had at least a .357 firing 168 grain cast semi-wadcutters (and they both should have practiced firing enough to be able to put two shots through a coffee/tea saucer at 25 yards)(at least if they wanted to live).

Unknown said...

Amen, but dumbass is an understatement

Unknown said...

Amen, but dumbass is an understatement

Anonymous said...

What do you mean all they wanted was his presence? Obviously one wanted his meat

Benjamin Dover said...

Why ridicule him for doing what he believed in? Because it got his girlfriend and 2 bears killed.

Benjamin Dover said...

And perhaps as a self-described bear "expert" and a painfilly lonely man, he made assurances to her that he couldn't keep in order to con her into joining him. Perhaps he told her there was nothing to worry about and that he would protect her. Freewill can be manipulated by a charming, deluded conman such as Treadwell.

Unknown said...

This guy was a total wacko! You people are making him out to be a bear hero. He was not. He was stupid although he thought he was doing right he could not control what he was thought he was doing. Herzog and the bitch he left the tape to was only doing this to make money. They were only promoting a murder. He killed his girlfriend by having her there with him. He is a puke murderer due his sick belief. Herzog and the bitch he left his shit to were only out for money. This guy was fucked in the head. Anyone who doesn't see this is stupid. He got what he deserved but his girlfriend didn't.