Grizzly Man

Un document inhabituel sur une personne inhabituelle. Quoi que vous attendiez de lui, vous verrez quelque chose de différent. Werner Herzog n'aime ni les animaux, ni glorifie Treadwell, qui se mettait dans la position de leur protecteur. Il ne l'était pas. Quand les visiteurs du parc jetaient des pierres sur ses "aimés, aimés, aimés" ours, il se cachait lâchement derrière les buissons. Treadwell n'était qu'un fou qui avait perdu son instinct de préservation et le contact avec la réalité, et pensait qu'il comprenait mieux le monde sauvage que le monde des humains. Herzog l'a choisi comme matériau d'étude, confrontant la personnalité de Treadwell à ses propres opinions et à celles des autres. Un documentaire réfléchi qui restera longtemps dans votre mémoire avec sa singularité. (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 jette un regard académique et factuel, mais aussi compatissant, sur la destinée d’un homme en prise constante avec des conditions extrêmes et qui se mettait consciemment en porte-à-faux avec la vie. Sa personnalité compliquée ne peut raisonnablement être rangée dans un quelconque tiroir, mais il n’est pas non plus nécessaire de s’identifier à ses opinions ni de prendre l’homme en sympathie. Car quoi qu’il en soit, son histoire – avec la narration captivante de Herzog – ne pourra que vous fasciner. Et puis, il y a le simple fait que, même si c’est à un niveau amateur, Timothy Treadwell était un documentariste et qu'il avait un sens de la cinématographie très développé, ce qui a permis, grâce à des prises à couper le souffle, de donner naissance à ce film. Un spectacle étonnamment chargé en émotions. (15/06/2021)