The Movie Grizzly Man, Essay Example

While the movie Grizzly Man demonstrates a nature lover’s perception in the wild, the most vivid scene of the movie occurs when the director, Werner Herzog is shown listening to Timothy Treadwell’s video recording of his adventure the moment before his death. This scene occurs at the end of the film, but is the most important moment of the documentary. Grizzly Man serves as a tribute to Treadwell’s life as a bear enthusiast, and it is therefore necessary to include his untimely death as a part of the feature. Compared to the rest of the film, this scene appears to make time stand still, it is less action packed than Treadwell’s nature adventures and it is clear that Treadwell’s death left a major impact on Herzog as he viewed it (Conesa-Sevilla 136).

While the scene in which Herzog views Treadwell’s death is the least modified scene in terms of costume and setting, it is certainly the darkest scene. The lighting appears to reflect this. In addition, Herzog appears to be grim as he views the scene for himself. While the average documentary viewer is unable to see the grizzly scene, Herzog’s feelings project onto the viewer and they immediately understand what has occurred (Conesa-Sevilla 138). It is likely that Herzog chose to not show this footage to the audience both due to the violence of the scene and out of respect for Treadwell. In this instance, the viewer is able to sense this before any words are spoken.

This scene mainly incorporates a close up on Herzog, who is the main focus at this point in time. This is done because it is important for the viewer to see his face in order to appropriately understand what has occurred in the footage he is viewing. This particular moment was a long take, which was done to ensure that the severity of the moment was fully captured. The purpose of this whole scene is for the audience to take in Herzog’s reaction and to incorporate it into their understanding of what came prior to this moment in the film in addition to what will come after. It is necessary for the viewer to understand that this moment represents a significant change in the story, and the long take helps the viewer reflect upon this. The sound plays an important role with regards to this effect. It makes it seem as if time is standing still, which is how it often feels when one receives bad news. As such, Herzog attempted to do the same here to ensure that the viewer would recognize the impact of this situation (Conesa-Sevilla 140).

All of the aforementioned elements were used by Herzog to make the viewer understand the impact that Treadwell’s death had. While the viewer watches the whole film knowing that something tragic will happen to Treadwell, this scene was done in a manner that allows the incident to hit the viewer regardless. Herzog combines elements of lighting, sound, and camera effect to demonstrate the severity of this moment. This is dramatized even further by his choice to not show Treadwell’s death on the screen and instead allow the audience to infer what had happened. This artistic choice makes this scene even stronger because the audience is forced to feed off of Herzog’s emotions, which is enhanced by the theatrical effects incorporated. Ultimately, this is the most eventful moment of the documentary even though not much was done. Herzog perfectly combined his knowledge of film with an understanding of his message to convey this scene in an effective manner.

Works Cited

Conesa-Sevilla, J. Walking With Bears: An Ecopsychological Study of Timothy (Dexter) Treadwell. The Trumpeter, 24.1(2008): 136-150.