Deadly Passion ? Tragedy in Katmai

Movie Information

Score:

Genre: Documentary
Director: Stefan Quinth
Starring: Joel Bennett, Larry Van Daele, Tom Walters, Dan Eubanks
Rated: NR

Though nowhere near being in the same league as Werner Herzog’s brilliant Grizzly Man, David Kaplan’s 35-minute documentary on the killing by bears of self-styled wildlife activist Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, in 2003 makes for an interesting companion piece. This third-place winner of the Twin Rivers Media Festival is an admirably straightforward work that eschews any kind of romanticizing about Treadwell’s relation to the bears — and indeed any romanticizing about Treadwell himself. Treadwell, of course, did enough of that in his own life.

Lacking the deeper insights of Herzog — into Treadwell’s sexual confusion, his desire to be an actor, his need to feel important, etc. — Quinth simply lays out the known facts and the reactions of those who knew Treadwell. It’s interesting to see how what we’re given here neatly leads to the examinations of Herzog’s more ambitious film.

Deadly Passion is definitely worth a look. The film is the first of four being shown this month by Twin Rivers Media Festival. Subsequent films are Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea (Thursday, May 18), Perils in Nude Modeling and Stars (both Thursday, May 25).

— reviewed by Ken Hanke

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About Ken Hanke
Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. Author of books "Ken Russell's Films," "Charlie Chan at the Movies," "A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series," "Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker."

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2 thoughts on “Deadly Passion ? Tragedy in Katmai

  1. Angela Anderson

    i would like to see the above documentary. Where can I get it?
    thank you
    Angela Anderson

    • Ken Hanke

      No idea. It was a film festival entry nine years ago. There’s no trace of it on the IMDb.

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