The Grizzly Man

Hil and I saw a great film at the second-run theatre. (We're dirt poor, so "second" anything is a good thing.)

Just up on College street, is an old moviehouse, the Royal. This is what theatres are meant to be like - one screen. One theatre. None of these ridiculous football-sized abominations which either look like exploding volcanoes or spaceships sprouting off the side of a superhighway. The Royal is old, slightly run down, and above all knows its place in the movie experience. It's a charming, subtle environment for the movie to be shown in, not a competing spectacle of lights and gaudy colors.

The film we saw was a real treat too - Werner Herzog's documentary: "Grizzly Man".

Grizzly Man follows the adventures of the real-life grizzly man - Timothy Treadwell. A university drop-out, who moved to California to make it big, didn't, and instead, spiraled downwards in alcoholism.

But something clicked for Timothy and saved his life: one summer, he went to Alaska and lived with the bears. Not tiny black and brown bears, but full-on grizzlies. The biggest and most powerful animals on our continent. Not only did he survive, he thrived, and within his connection to these massive creatures, he carved out a purpose for himself - to save the grizzly and live with the bears.

The next 13 years of Tim's life, as outlined in the film, show his rise to stardom (he was even on Letterman), as well as conservation efforts, and most incredibly - his ability to spend entire summers up close with kodiaks without becoming bear food. During his last 5 years, he had a video camera to film his so-titled "expeditions". His footage inspires a mix of admiration, awe, and disbelief that someone would actually get so close to wild bears. Probably some of the most hair-raising, move to the edge of your seat, wide-eyed footage you'll ever see.

Some particularly notable scenes have him within 2 feet of bears, poking them on the nose with his finger, or standing up and yelling at them. Or cajoling them. Or phraising them.

Hil, (our biology expert), describes his behavior as anthropomorphisizing, which is where you give animals human traits.

Timothy gives the bears names like Mr Chocolate, Daisy, and Rowdy, and talks about their personalities. For instance, "Me and Mr Chocolate (the massive bear 10 feet behind him, foraging for berries)," says a happy bleach blond Tim to his camera, "have known each other for 10 years. Isn't that right Mr Chocolate? Yes, that's right 10 years. I knew Mr Chocolate when he was just a little cubbie, and now he's all big. We're good friends! Good good friends! I LOVE YOU Mr Chocolate!"

It's hard to tell if Timothy is crazy, or really does have some sort of connection with these bears. I guess that's a testament to his belief in his actions.

You may be wondering why this posting seems to have a slightly "past-tense" or "ominous" tone. Well, Timothy and his girlfriend were eaten by a bear 2 years ago. This too is covered in the film, and it lends the whole thing an air of surrealness.

I don't want this posting to get too big, or worse yet, deny you of all the delightful or riveting moments in this film - so, just rent it. This is real. That's the crazy thing - this IS real.

www.grizzlyman.com