Living mountain

Stories that take us far away, on foot, to the sound of hooves, completely at the mercy of the forces of nature—with nothing but our bodies, a handful of dogs, and perhaps a stick to defend the herd on which the very existence of an entire community depends. Shepherding is not just a thing of the past: from the migration of a community through the mountains of Persia, portrayed on an epic scale in “Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life” (1925), to a shepherdess in present-day Montenegro defending her community and its pastures against plans for a military training ground in “To Hold a Mountain,” a century of cinema bears witness to the endurance of this way of life. “La drum” and “Calea laptelui,” made by Dumitru Budrala almost thirty years apart, invite us to consider why this gruelling work remains relevant, drawing us into the intimate everyday lives of Romanian shepherding families. “Sweetgrass” immerses us in the atmosphere of Montana’s pastures, accompanying shepherds on one of their last journeys into the mountains, while “Wool Man Sheep” explores why tons of wool goes to waste and how it can be put to use again.