Big Mountains, Big Sky, And A Whole Lotta Sheep
'Sweetgrass' chronicles 'last ride of the American cowboy' in Montana's Absaroka-Beartooth Range
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
The documentary Sweetgrass finally shows us what cowboys and sheep do when no one’s around: They hike for miles and miles in some of the most beautiful mountain country on Earth (get your mind out of the gutter, kids). Filmmaking couple (and Harvard professors) Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Ilisa Barbash spent years capturing footage of Montana cowboys as they drove 3,000 sheep over the Absaroka-Beartooth mountains for the last time. What follows is a lyrical journey exploring the relationship between man, beast, and mountain at the end of an era.
The film’s been drawing rave reviews on the festival circuit and in mainstream publications like the NY Times. Watch the incredible trailer:
Our inside spy Jeff at Cold Splinters says the movie’s “breathtaking…and I found myself shaking my head often in disbelief, taken aback by the magnitude of some of the shots. The film is void of any sentimental music or narration, and is instead voiced by the unintended humor of the cowboys, the dumb/LOUD sheep and the sounds and realities of spending three months in Big Sky country.”
Sweetgrass is in extremely limited release, but it’ll be on tour throughout 2010. Find out when it’s coming to your town with this schedule.
—Ted Alvarez
via Cold Splinters