Lions Gate Films
2005 - Rated R (for implied bear violence) - 1 hr 43 min
Director: Werner Herzog
Starring: Timothy Treadwell, Amie Huguenard, Wener Herzog, some bears
Here I am making fun of this movie, a post-mortem tribute to a bear-saving activitist who was eaten by a bear. Am I going to hell? Or does this guy deserve it, after trying to live with the bears for 13 years until one of them finally thought he looked tasty? (You might say they could "bearly" stand him!) Honestly, the phrase "pushing your luck" does not capture the insanity of Timothy Treadwell.
Who apparently did not tread well enough.
Sorry, couldn't help myself.
A highly polarizing figure (the bear puns are just flying now!), Treadwell lived in the most dangerous bear-ridden part of Alaska he could find every summer for 13 years. The year he was eaten, he'd also brought his girlfriend along to share his fate. Ironically, she was afraid of the bears... he was trying to show her how gentle they are. Yeah, gentle and friendly with foot-long claws and bone-crunching teeth. I think we'll stick with the teddy variety in my house.
So some people say, "Wow! He was such a hero! Living with the bears, fighting the hunters, getting in touch with nature." Blah blah blah. Others say, "He's messing with the bears! They'll get used to humans and it will make them more susceptible to being hunted!" While the documentary does a good job of presenting both arguments, it's largely skewed in favor of Treadwell and his mission. I say, when in the hell was he fighting hunters? During most of his footage, he's just prancing around the forest and giving bears really lame names like Mr. Chocolate.
Perhaps I'm too cynical to see the merit here. Or maybe I'm right. Either way, he truly is a fascinating character and this piece on his life is really interesting. The fact that they have audio from the video camera of the two of them getting eaten just proves it. He's getting attacked by a bear and he turns on the camera. They assume he just didn't have time to remove the lens cap, but he probably would've if he could've. And I think that's one dedicated bear lover.
No comments:
Post a Comment