In Reply to: Re: Grizzly Man posted by Ross-O on March 09, 2006 at 07:40:46:

I'd have to agree with your call on the mental illness, Ross. I don't know that he was full-blown delusional, but he seemed to be getting more detached from reality as time went on. He said he would die for the bears and I think he anthropomorphized them to feel attached enough to do that. It's like they were his family and he certainly felt he could die for his family members.
I disagree with Jim that the film didn't go far enough. I think Herzog did a brilliant job of letting the story tell itself and leaving room for his audience to draw their own conclusions about who Treadwell was and what motivated him. Needless to say, it seems a majority of people who have seen the film have drawn the conclusion that he was "nuts," or an "idiot," so no need for Herzog to force that perspective on the viewer.