Timothy Treadwell spent 13 summers living among wild bears in the Alaskan wilderness until one of his beloved grizzlies got tired of the stalking and decided to devour him at his campsite in Katmai National Park in the fall of 2003. In telling this story, Werner Herzog relies considerably on Treadwell's own video footage and it soon becomes apparent that Treadwell was an incredible irritating nutcase, a manic-depressive ex-alcoholic whose pseudo-ecological nonsense and selfishness were in big contrast to the desolate and raw beauty of the undisturbed wilderness. Treadwell was no biologist but a ridiculous charlatan who claimed himself the saviour of the grizzly bears in a nature reserve (!). By exposing the animals to human contact, he did them more harm than good while his egomaniacal rants against the park authorities, poachers and other visitors to his remote hideaway are proof of his insane behaviour. He wanted to become one with the bears (in which he definitely succeeded!) but never even considered asking himself if the wild animals appreciated his presence. Herzog's documentary tends to voyeurism and sensation but it suits the subject of a bear-obsessed paranoid loser perfectly. Totally embarrassing!
