Grizzly Night offers bearable lessons

The genre of bear movies (yes, such a thing exists) gets a new entry with Grizzly Night, a docudrama that avoids campy or splattery chomp romp antics. Inspired by events covered in a PBS documentary, filmmakers recreate an era when no one thought much about leaving out trash to lure bears for photo ops at Montana’s Glacier National Park. The practice worked safely for a group staying in one of the park lodges but proved fatal when a full house forced two groups of teenagers to camp outdoors.  Writers Katrina Mathewson and Tanner Bean join director Burke Doeren in exploring the challenge of admiring magnificent creatures without harm—to either people or animals. The filmmakers miss the resonance of Werner Herzog’s outstanding Grizzly Man documentary about fatalities in Alaska, but they use concern rather than exploitation to question the system and attitudes that led to tragedy in 1967. Ursine footage, along with Utah’s rugged terrain stepping in as Montana, plus some helicopter stunt work keeps the film looking good, despite a low budget that precludes casting quickly recognizable names.  Introducing numerous characters, the filmmakers face a slow start played with varying degrees of skill by cast members. Tag the performing bear definitely comes off better than some bit players in early scenes, looking sincere and threatening when called on to charge and roar with ferocity. Tag gets the point across without a need to emphasize gore, and the film picks up by focusing on interactions between survivors and their helpers. Without painting a rosy picture, Grizzly Night shows the event supplied valuable lessons about appreciating and respecting nature.