Docudrama directed and narrated by filmmaker Werner Herzog focuses on Timothy Treadwell, the self taught naturalist whose “expeditions” into the Katmai National Park in Alaska – where he videotaped himself in close proximity to grizzly bears – ended in 2003, when he and girlfriend Amie Huguenard were attacked and eaten by a bear.

Herzog, whose films are recurring with characters with impossible dreams and unique obsessions, uses an odd format here; part documentary, part theater and part mediation on the universe, with Herzog’s Germanic opinion chiming in along the way.

It’s an awkward effect. The interviews with the coroner and Treadwell’s friends are staged, and feel like street auditions for a David Lynch movie. Fortunately, most of the film consists of outtakes Herzog culled from over 100 hours of Treadwell’s video journals. Though audio exists of his death (the lens cap prevented any video recording of the mauling), Herzog doesn’t play it. Instead, he films himself listening to the tape on earphones and reacting.

Treadwell left home as a teen on an athletic scholarship for diving, but drinking and a back injury forced him to drop out of school. He made it to L.A. and tried to be an actor, but when that didn’t work out, slipped even deeper into alcohol. Treadwell’s road to sobriety and salvation lead him to Alaska, where critics accused his exploits with the bears of doing more harm than good.

This same argument surfaced following Steve Irwin’s death last week, but Treadwell, who had no degree, no crew, and no permission from the Parks Service to do what he was doing, was viewed as a wingnut and a far easier target for conservationists, who feel the best thing for the animal kingdom is that people like the Crocodile Hunter leave it alone.

Herzog makes it clear that Treadwell never exploited the bears for economic gain, appearing at public schools without accepting a fee. He apparently died without much in the bank. But he was clearly living in his own reality, a world where bears were friends with names like Mr. Chocolate, everything in nature was beautiful, and civilization represented everything that was wrong with the planet. Treadwell was no Dian Fossey, trying to protect the bears from outsiders. He was an outsider who wanted to be a bear.

Herzog differs with Treadwell’s view of the universe – where we’re all God’s children and nature equals harmony – but he expresses admiration for Treadwell’s skills as a filmmaker. He obsessively did multiple takes, aware that he was the star of his own movie. At the same time, Treadwell was so driven by his project that, by living in the wild with bears for weeks on end, was able to capture footage of the Alaskan wilderness that is both spontaneous and beautiful.

One of Treadwell’s critics comes to the conclusion that the Grizzly Man lived as long as he did because the bears probably thought he was crazy. Herzog identifies with and has a lot of respect for “crazy,” and his film is involving, extremely well made and allows the audience to draw their own conclusions about Treadwell’s journey. I’d highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in wildlife, psychology, philosophy, or bears.