Review of Sweetgrass (2009) by David J — 10 Nov 2010

After viewing the documentary Sweetgrass, which has no formal set-up, the end credits explain that what was just depicted was a 300km sheep herding exhibition through rural Montana. We are informed that shepherds have taken sheep to the rugged, uncivilized north western region of the state every spring since the 19th century. The movie compiles footage shot from 2001-03 of the last journey of the last group of shepherds to do this.

The movie begins on a farm with shots of sheep standing around not doing much, then shots of sheep eating, and then more shots of sheep standing around. There are no shots of humans for the first 3 minutes, and no dialogue between them for 15. Eventually the sheep are shaved in prep for spring, and some give birth. Eventually they are all rounded up, probably a couple hundred in total, and their journey can begin.

The country the shepherds heard through is sometimes rough, and never easy. They climb one mountain after another, only occasionally encountering a trail on one side or the other. Most of the actual grazing occurs on mountain side, which is mostly clear of trees and shrubbery. Throughout the journey the shepherds are rarely seen on camera, and even though the movie is about moving sheep, all takes a backseat to the gorgeous Salish Mountains. Shots of the mountains are plentiful and make up majority of the movie. Shooting was done on digital video which gives the mountains a crisp, more natural look than film. The camera is often pulled back to fill the frame with as much scenery as possible. There are few close-ups, just of the shepherds resting.

The shepherds have very little screen time or dialogue. When they do speak to each other it's always quiet and frank. There is a sense that they blend into the enormous landscape. I imagine the job is a lot tougher than it looks. They only break monotone when they hatefully curse the sheep or the mountains. They don't let their discontent show to each other, but their vexation from the sheep and mountains is the catharsis for long, taxing days, and what has probably been a life of hard labour. The longest scene of dialogue is when one of the shepherds goes off by himself to call his momma and whine. Even though we don't get to know the shepherds, I came to like them, and admire them for the work they do, which is probably underpaid. They are sort of like contemporary versions of the cowboys in Lonesome Dove. Their adventures aren't quite as exciting as that, but they are real life adventurers.

I found the first half of Sweetgrass to be boring and tiresome. Eventually I fell into the quiet rhythm of the movie. The shots of the Montana backcountry are breathtaking, and cast a spell over the movie. I grew up in Calgary and I've spent a lot of time hiking around the Rockies, so I'm a sucker for a movie that will take the viewer to that kind of environment. The movie takes the viewer much further out than most of the places I've been able to go. I'm sad to say that the Alberta backcountry is gradually becoming more corrupted by highways and rural housing developments. The experience of Sweetgrass is more than if you say, just looked at some pretty pictures. There is a feeling that we are side by side with the shepherds, experiencing the quality of a solitary existence in a place untouched by population. I imagine that the experience for some audiences will be nothing more than how I felt during the first half. Audiences for whom the previous description appeals to may find the movie to be an enjoyable window, which is worthwhile the wait to sink into.