"We hauled away four garbage bags of people outta that bear."

I guess it's my turn to be a dick. Of course we had heard about Grizzly Man, and everyone knows that things did not end well for Timothy Treadwell. What I was not expecting was how much I would end up despising the guy. He was clearly nuts but also egotistical and a complete imbecile. I have a serious problem with people who anthropomorphise and infantalize wild animals. Yes, I treat my domesticated cats like my babies, but when they scratch me or when something bad happens to them, I am not shocked or offended. I understand that they are animals. People like this man cannot comprehend that these creatures are not their "friends." Contrary to what Timothy believed, they were not accepting him. They acclimated to his presence and adapted their behavior to accommodate his ridiculous intrusions. I was really bothered by the fact that in the staged portions of his recordings, he comes off as some goofy man-child who's so pure hearted and tells the animals constantly how much he loves them. However, in the set up moments it is clear that he thinks so very highly of himself and wants to make this footage into some kind of blockbuster movie. He also wasn't always as sweet to the animals as he pretended to be, like when he was cussing at the fox for stealing his hat.

Over and over Timothy claimed that he was the only person who was protecting them - but there was no evidence presented as to any positive affects his obsession had on them. In the ONE bit of footage he had of people mistreating the bears (some people throwing rocks at one and taking pictures), he cowered in the bushes and watched them do it. When he cried over the coyotes attacking the baby fox and said that he didn't understand and that it was unfair, that was a crucial moment for me, which I was glad the filmmaker pointed out. This man wasn't a scientist or an expert - he was an absolute loon who decreed himself some kind of champion and protector of these animals, when he had absolutely nothing of value to offer them. My favorite part was the interview with helicopter pilot Sam Egli who said it plainly - in the end he got exactly what he deserved.

Brandon had a lot more sympathy for Timothy, and does believe that he was earnest and sincere in his efforts, but that he was a depressed, isolated, misguided soul who was so lost that he rejected society in a suicidal way. He should have been on meds and needed intensive therapy, which he rejected, but the so called human "friends" he had should have stepped in an helped him rather than encourage his destructive behavior. He basically committed suicide by bear, sadly taking someone else out with him. Also, as opposed to my impression that he was just delusional, Brandon feels that he really did forge friendships with at least the foxes with whom he lived though the bears seemed at most to have tolerated his presence.

The one aspect that really felt strange to me was how mysterious everyone was about the woman who died with Timothy. Her family refused to be interviewed, and there were no pictures of her face included. All that they knew about her was that she was petrified of bears. WTF? Why would she even agree to go on these trips with him if she was so scared? That was the only tragic part for me, but I am sure she was just as insane as he was.

If nothing else, despite the bad taste his methods left in my mouth, I do admire the amazingly gorgeous footage that Timothy was able to procure. We are both glad we finally watched this documentary, but I think we both would have really preferred watching a couple hours following the adorable foxes.

(BTW, I am ending this review now but I could go on for about 20 more paragraphs. Brandon and I are continuing to discuss it via IM right now, so I guess that's the sign of a good movie - when it can get you fired up and inspire a lot of debate!)