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onthewing
Reviews
El Desierto (2018)
Mesmerizing, beautifully shot, verite style documentary short
This short doc won the Special Jury Prize for Cinematic Quality last week at the RiverRun International Film Festival I attended and for good reason. I was hoping it would win. It was also a favorite of my friends who attended. It is a beautifully and expertly filmed look inside a world and landscape none of us could ever really imagine or would have ever contemplated to begin with. Without the few general titles at the beginning to set the scene, I would not have understood what was happening because it is a secret part of sheep farming that the filmmakers said in their Q&A afterward that they didn't know about either. This is a portrayal that is alternately romantic, treacherous, laborious, charming, lonely and profoundly interesting. For instance, if the subject of the film had been present, the audience would never have let him out of the theater because what this guy does, how he lives, and what he sacrifices to achieve this every year is really unbelievable and he would be barraged with questions about every little aspect of what was filmed. I will add that his horses and sheepdogs add a sweetness and you realize he cannot do this work without them. They also lessen the loneliness for him and us watching. If you have a chance to see this, it really was one of the best short docs I saw at the fest, and I saw them all.
Among Wolves (2016)
Beautifully shot and edited, it will pull you in
One of the best documentaries I've seen...so good I went to see it twice! It follows a Bosnian motorcycle club over many years as they help each other with PTSD (the club was started by and is led by war veterans) help their struggling community, and interestingly, protect and steward a herd of wild horses that lives nearby. The cinematography is beautiful and you will be enchanted by the footage of the horses and the countryside. This film has won a bunch of awards on the festival circuit and I see why - it felt it was a subtle and moving portrayal of the dignity and humanity of these men, and looks quietly but intently into their everyday lives. Highly recommended.