Monday, January 21, 2008

Grizzly Man

David and I watched this documentary at his house this afternoon. It came highly recommended by a professor of mine. It is a fascinating and depressing story of this confused, good-natured, but poorly adjusted fellow who goes off to live among the grizzlies in Alaska every summer. He does this for over a decade, and takes incredibly beautiful, clear shots of the bears and other animals. The director, Werner Herzog includes more awesome footage of the landscape. The guy, whose name I've already forgotten, is a bit of a narcissistic weirdo, and you feel kind of embarrased for him playing in front of the camera. There is something so child-like in his self-absorption that you forget that he has placed himself in a very seriously dangerous situation. There are shots of him talking to bears and tapping them on the noses! Eventually he and his girlfriend are mauled to death by one of them. You see footage filmed just hours before their death. David thinks if he hadn't died it wouldn't have been interesting, but I think it still would have been a unique character study. Although obviously his death adds pathos and drama.

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