"Grizzly Man" is a disturbing and wickedly funny documentary about an odd young man who wanted to be a kind of patron saint for animals. He went off to live with bears in Alaska every summer, and became a minor celebrity. It all ended in 2003 when one of the bears ate him and his girlfriend.

The film effectively combines found footage with fascinating commentary by the director, Werner Herzog. It is definitely not an impersonal fly-on-the-wall-film; and the editorial voice of Herzog is always present. At one point, the director even openly opposes the protagonist’s benevolent view of nature by asserting that nature is chaos.

Herzog was one of the leading lights in the great 1970s German new wave movement. He made a mesmerizing and perplexing series of films including "Every Man for Himself and God against All," "Nosferatu the Vampire," and "Aguirre, the Wrath of God." His films often feature protagonists that cross over into insanity or exhibit anti-social behavior.

In the last few decades, Herzog’s films have been less frequent and less brilliant, but "Grizzly Man" is an almost complete return to form.

A huge part of the appeal of "Grizzly Man" is its fascinating subject. Treadwell was a madman, would be messiah, a noble animal right’s advocate, and a misanthrope.

He was a failed actor and alcoholic surfer, then he decided to recreate himself. He changed his name to Timothy Treadwell, and made up a strange fake accent, which combined California and Kennedy-like pronunciations of words.

He decided that his purpose in life was to bridge the gap between human and bear culture, and he joined a bear tribe.

Timothy made up goofy names for some of the dangerous 800-900 pound beasts like Mr. Chocolate and Aunt Melissa. He interacted with the bears on film. He often talked to them as if they were guests on a children’s show, and he was the goofy host. If a bear did something wrong, he would scold it and say, "I love you."

He eventually began to identify more with grizzlies than humans, and he convinced himself he was staying there to protect them from poachers, but it was clear that he had lost his grip on reality.

He stayed with the bears for 13 summers until one of the grizzlies devoured him and his girlfriend. He constantly taped himself, and an audiotape of his actual death was found, but the director deemed it too horrific to use in the film.

"Grizzly Man" refuses to anthropomorphize the bears. Timothy Treadwell’s great flaw was that he failed to appreciate the bear’s savage power and their capacity for violence.

Treadwell’s directing talent was minimal, but he shot some extraordinary footage¾ some was accidental. During one of his shoots, a pair of foxes ran up to him and one of them stole his hat. The film contains a devastating battle between two male grizzlies over a female, which leaves huge tufts of hair everywhere.

Treadwell breaks down and rails against God like a lunatic in one sequence. He begs God to send rain so that the starving bears can feast on salmon.

"Grizzly Man" may not get the best distribution but it is well worth seeking out. In comparison, most other nature documentaries (even good ones such as "March of the Penguins") seem somewhat silly or overly sentimental.