In the current issue of Filmmaker, I have a pretty short piece on Werner Herzog's new film, Grizzly Man. Editorial discretion -- and our policy against straight-up reviewing outside the context of a festival report -- prevented me from heaping extravagant, gushing praise on a single film, let alone using the "m" word. But that's what blogs are for.

I simply can't recommended this film highly enough. Herzog, whose extraordinary films of the '70s I discovered in college, gave us one of the worst pictures ever made by a great director with Invincible a couple of years back. So to see him rediscover his brilliance with his recent foray into the non-fiction format is pretty amazing, and touching (an adjective Herzog has probably never used). Grizzly Man is the best film to be released this year and one of the best non-fiction films ever made. Its structure, which resembles an essay more than a narrative, is exquisite, as is Herzog's ongoing dialog (via voiceover and in his role an investigator) with his flawed, obsessive hero. Herzog is the master when it comes to articulating the essence of tortured, driven souls, and Timothy Treadwell's life presents him with an ideal canvas. Yes, it's a masterpiece.

Other recent Herzog docs, all of them worth watching: The White Diamond (2004), Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997), My Best Fiend (1999) and, if you can find it, Lessons of Darkness (1992).

# posted by Matthew Ross @ 8/13/2005 05:08:00 PM

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