The Man Who Thought The Bears Loved Him

Last night after crunchy, spicy tuna rolls at our favorite Japanese restaurant Moshi Moshi in Northampton, we went to the little Pleasant St. theater to see “Grizzly Man.” Narrated by the filmmaker Werner Herzog, in his deep German accent, the film follows the travels and eventual demise of Tim Treadwell, self styled Man-bear, in Alaska’s Kodiak Island.

The film is unique as a documentary, since it gets into the mind of the subject, and follows his spiral into madness. Herzog probes into his psyche and asks why Treadwell would allow himself to believe he was safe among these five-hundred pound carnivores. More than a few times we hear Treadwell in his own video footage speak about what may happen to him, and inevitably does, if he crossed the line.

His girlfriend has Amy a minor role, we see her in only three short takes among the hundreds of hours of videotapes left behind. But when the final day in October 2001 came, and the bears turned on Bear-Man, Amy refuses to run away when he is being devoured by a hungry bear. Among the remains was his detatched forearm with his watch still ticking.