What do you call a movie that's about a man whose passion in life is to create a grizzly-bear-proof suit of armor (and test it in the field)? "Odd" would probably be what comes to mind; certainly Project Grizzly isn't your typical takes-itself-seriously documentary. To begin with, the focus of the film isn't on the grizzly bear project, but on the man behind it: Troy Hurtubise, a Canadian scrap-metal dealer with a Quixotic dream.

The 72-minute film introduces us to Hurtubise as he explains the origins of his fascination with grizzlies: in a "near death" experience, he came into the clutches of a grizzly bear but was unharmed. Drawn by the thrill of the experience, and hungry for the adrenaline rush, Hurtubise became determined to face off with bears and survive. Project Grizzly follows him as he tests the latest model of his bear-proof suit, and reminisces about previous models; finally we follow Hurtubise and his friends up into the mountains as they attempt to put the suit to its ultimate test.

Project Grizzly is a strange film, partly from its subject matter and partly from the perspective that Peter Lynch, the film's director, takes on the topic. Hurtubise comes across as a kind of gently kooky Captain Ahab, whose "white whale" is the grizzly bear he's named "Old Man." And the thrust of the film seems to be that Hurtubise is a bit pathetic; the way the material is presented suggests that we're intended to find his interest in coming face-to-face with bears, and his bear-suit project, as slightly absurd.

But why should we feel that way? Why should we think that Hurtubise's enthusiasm for his project is somehow "uncool"? Would we respect him more if he just sat in front of the TV with a beer on the weekends instead of working on his project or venturing into the mountains? If the answer to that is "yes," it's a sorry reflection on the viewer, not on Hurtubise, who, it turns out, trained to work in the natural resources field... only to find that in the midst of a recession, work in a scrap metal yard was all he could get. He may not have been able to get the kind of job he wanted, but at least in his free time he can work on projects that are interesting and challenging to him.

Even if the middle of the film suggests that the bear project might be a reasonable (if off-beat) project, in the end, Project Grizzly turns around and makes the whole thing look absurd once again. The culminating scenes of Hurtubise and his friends attempting to actually use the bear suit vividly reveal the flaws in his overall plan, as well as the ultimate pointlessness of the endeavor. It become clear that he's really just looking for a thrill, and he's not really all that interested in the bears themselves, as bears. In that way, his self-styled resemblance to Jacques Cousteau rings hollow; the bear project was never about the bears. And in that way, Project Grizzly has it right, in focusing on Hurtubise as the topic of the film, rather than on the project.

The DVD

Video

The film is presented in an anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) transfer that offers a decent viewing experience. Most likely due to the quality of the source material, the image is very soft and generally lacks fine detail; there's a fair amount of grain, and a smattering of print flaws throughout the image.

Audio

Project Grizzly has an utterly superfluous Dolby 5.1 soundtrack; it might as well be mono. There's no discernible use of surround sound, as the film is almost entirely dialogue-based anyway. The audio quality is satisfactory for the most part, with most of the interviews sounding natural; the dialogue tends to sound rather flat, but the speakers are always understandable.

Extras

If you enjoy Project Grizzly, you'll be pleased with the supplemental materials that have been assembled for its DVD release. To begin with, we get two commentary tracks: one from director Peter Lynch and the other (a "critical appreciation" track) from Richard Crouse and Geoff Pevere of Reel to Real. A section of outtakes provides six deleted scenes, running about seven minutes in total; they can be viewed separately or with a "play all" feature, and have an optional commentary track from Lynch. We also get an insert booklet with an introductory statement from Lynch. Lastly, there's a trailer gallery with previews of Horns and Halos, Family, The Cola Conquest, and Stone Reader.

Final thoughts

If you enjoy documentaries that focus on quirky individuals, regardless of the subject matter, then Project Grizzly may be just what you're looking for. Peter Lynch's odd little film is reasonably well done, but you'll have to be in the right mood for it; Project Grizzly is a portrait of one rather odd individual, not a documentary that provides any insights into the natural world. Rent it.