I had little intention of ever watching this documentary. I'm a fan of Werner Herzog, but the story did not interest me at all. Anyway, I watched it on Discovery Channel tonight, and it was amazing, by far the most moving "nature documentary" I've ever seen.
The story is about Timothy Treadwell, a man who, after fighting years of drug and alcohol addiction, made it his life's work to protect the bears and other wildlife living in a wildlife refuge in Alaska. While one can argue that they are already protected, we see that the animals are mostly ignored by the government, and being left to fend for themselves doesn't always work out. In addition, poaching is pretty rampant, and is ignored by park officials.
For 13 years, Treadwell spends three to four months a year living among the bears on this wildlife refuge, becoming familiar with them to the point that he can pet them and hang out among them with no threat at all. That is, until 2003 when one of the bears attacked and killed Treadwell and his girlfriend.
The documentary takes no stance in regard to Treadwell's actions. We are given many points of view on the death. Herzog himself comments that because of his own view of life in general, he feels that the only constant in life is chaos, and that Treadwell's death was inevitable. A helicopter pilot, the one who finds Treadwell's bones, comments that Treadwell got what he deserved and that the only tragedy was that he took his innocent girlfriend with him. Treadwell's supporters see his death as an unexplainable tragedy.
Treadwell often had nothing more than a video camera as company for months, and so we see footage of Treadwell pouring his heart out, praying to God for rain when the bears' source of water dries up. Treadwell clearly seems to go insane, but even through this insanity, we see the love and passion he has for the animals he's protecting.
Most of all, this is a film about passion, and giving up everything you have to stand up for what you believe in. The film does not try to offer any answers for Treadwell's tragic death, and, indeed, there are no answers.
It's being re-shown on Discovery tomorrow at 8 PM, so I would recommend checking it out.
The story is about Timothy Treadwell, a man who, after fighting years of drug and alcohol addiction, made it his life's work to protect the bears and other wildlife living in a wildlife refuge in Alaska. While one can argue that they are already protected, we see that the animals are mostly ignored by the government, and being left to fend for themselves doesn't always work out. In addition, poaching is pretty rampant, and is ignored by park officials.
For 13 years, Treadwell spends three to four months a year living among the bears on this wildlife refuge, becoming familiar with them to the point that he can pet them and hang out among them with no threat at all. That is, until 2003 when one of the bears attacked and killed Treadwell and his girlfriend.
The documentary takes no stance in regard to Treadwell's actions. We are given many points of view on the death. Herzog himself comments that because of his own view of life in general, he feels that the only constant in life is chaos, and that Treadwell's death was inevitable. A helicopter pilot, the one who finds Treadwell's bones, comments that Treadwell got what he deserved and that the only tragedy was that he took his innocent girlfriend with him. Treadwell's supporters see his death as an unexplainable tragedy.
Treadwell often had nothing more than a video camera as company for months, and so we see footage of Treadwell pouring his heart out, praying to God for rain when the bears' source of water dries up. Treadwell clearly seems to go insane, but even through this insanity, we see the love and passion he has for the animals he's protecting.
Most of all, this is a film about passion, and giving up everything you have to stand up for what you believe in. The film does not try to offer any answers for Treadwell's tragic death, and, indeed, there are no answers.
It's being re-shown on Discovery tomorrow at 8 PM, so I would recommend checking it out.
side by his body language and voice...wondering if he drove a Rx8....damn I truly wish his girlfriend saw the light before it was too late!
