And this week's Friday night movie has been... Grizzly Man!
I've been wanting to see this for a long time: A documentary about a man named Timothy Treadwell, who would make regular visits to the Alaskan wilderness to take footage of bears - often with himself sharing the frame. And who would became something of celebrity due to his passion for them.
Much of this movie is made out of the footage that Timothy shot. And as a result we learn a lot about him: he is indeed enthusiastic about the bears but at the same time, he is someone who is clearly in love with his own passion. As such, Timothy is constantly putting himself in dangerous situations, is unperturbed that he is dealing with ruthless killing machines, claims to be keen on conservation but isn't doing anything to back it up, is clearly more at home in the wild than in civilization, is unafraid to vent some anger at the National Parks Service, has no proper idea of what he is doing and is a clear interference in the flow of nature.
But on the other hand, Timothy does show some talent as a filmmaker and certainly has an eye for an image. And however misguided he may be, you can't fault him for his passion.
Still, this does have some resonance for me as this is someone who is clearly out of his depth chasing a dream that is ultimately misguided. Those who know me will know that I have never had a lot of faith in the notion of 'Be yourself and disregard what anyone else thinks' because, at least to me, that does inspire a mindset of tunnel-vision. And this movie is that theory in practice.
In the end, this is indeed a fascinating character study. The subject is certainly not a usual choice for one which, in turn, makes it even more compelling
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