The Last Shepherd (2012) Poster

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10/10
Beautiful and Touching
mariosauros-890-52333910 January 2014
L'Ultimo Pastore (The Last Shepherd), is an Italian documentary about the last shepherd of Milan, Renato Zucchelli. Since he was 17, he wanted to be a shepherd. He says that he feels free when he does his job, and who wouldn't be. He's got the mountains to himself and his sheep, and a lovely supportive family living in Milan. But the job doesn't come without challenges. With Milan laying down more and more concrete, finding grass for his sheep becomes more difficult. The other angle of the story are the kids of Milan and how nowadays they don't get exposed to animals or know what a real shepherd looks like, and Renato's dream is to show these kids just that.

I really liked the different tones the director, Marco Bonfanti, took us through in the film. It started off comedic, then went into the more serious issues of the job, and then a more emotional ride. The visuals of Renato and his kids walking through the city of Milan with hundreds of sheep were simply stunning. It looked so surreal throughout the film. A beautiful documentary that took me by surprise, and I highly recommend you give it a watch.
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5/10
A blurred synopsis
anthonyk078 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
The story of a peculiar man from a northern region of Milan and his quests to continue an archaic lifestyle in order to fulfil his life long dream and to give some children in Milan an opportunity to see sheep in the flesh.

The plot is extremely light and the film focuses on the scenery of the mountains surrounding Milan, the soundtrack, and the emotions/experiences of life as a shepherd living close to a large city.

The music was splendid, tranquil and filled the gaps when the plot lacked any value or when the scenery became too hideous.

There are some exaggerations and some clichés as you would expect to fill out the storyline. While I'm sure the director intended for the viewer to fall in love with the "virtuous" shepherd he came across as a sanctimonious day dreamer stuck in a moralistic fantasy who refuses to evolve, wants to live off everyone else's spoils for free and throughout the film broke the law. For me the intention was good but the character really turned me off what should have been a light hearted story.

In the end the film left my mind blurred and confused. The word mocumentary ran though my head several times. If the message of the director was to highlight the difference between city life and farm life, and also that people living in cities should return to nature more, then the message was conveyed in an absurd fashion. If the story was about strange people, then he succeeded to that end.

For the music and scenery, this film is still worth a watch and the shepherd is funny at times if you don't think logically about his musings.
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