Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Skunkyrate Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

lilmonty The reviewer Brian criticizes this movie for not having a plot. That is like criticizing shoes for not being useful as a hat. Brian, you are a fool. This is a fantastic documentary. Yes, it does not have a plot. OK. It is not supposed to have a plot. But it does provide a view of the interplay between sheep, herders, and terrain that you will never see anywhere else without actually doing herding yourself. Highly recommended (unless you want a movie with a plot, in which case you should seek one out to watch instead of watching this). My children keep demanding to see this movie over and over again. I wish there were more documentaries like this about other things we sometimes hear about but never see.

Nathaniel Sundberg I grew up not far from Big Timber, Montana and the wilderness area where the film was shot is my favorite place on earth. I also love documentaries. With that said, I was surprised I did not like this film at all. I gave it two stars because of the scenery. I am in the minority opinion with regards to the "pure art" of this film. I found it extremely dry and boring. With the exception of the excellent scenery and good camera work, the rest of the film truly stinks. I really can't say enough bad things about it. I wish I didn't have to continue writing more details about how bad the film was, but IMDb has a ten line minimum.

[email protected] I saw "Sweet Grass" with four other people, one of whom enjoyed the Montana scenery, one of whom belonged to a family that had raised sheep and thought the film misrepresented reality and three of whom, counting me, were bored out of their skulls. The dialog -- "Baa" is the dominant word at the start, a multiplicity of curses that would shame a sailor hold sway toward the end, and repetitive out of tune singing is interspersed along with a lot of yips and yells intended to startle the sheep into movement -- is of negative interest. Among the misrepresentations according to the sheep-in-the-family viewer: Mother sheep don't generally recognize their own offspring, certainly not by scent; shearing generally occurs in the summer, not in the dead of winter. (Though I promised my son-in-law 20 sheep as a dowry, which my wife would never allow me to deliver, I can't vouch for any of this. However, there was no slaughtering of sheep for meat, which none of us found credible considering the size of the operation.) However, I can personally attest that this film produces less poetry than the phone book. If you are interested in watching thousands of sheep behave like thousands of sheep and herders struggle with getting them to and from summer pasture, be my guest. But consider yourself forewarned.

jim smith At one point in this wonderful work, the camera is high in the Montana Beartooths above the cowboys with their 3000 sheep coming up the mountain for some good-weather grazing. The woolies are getting to be all over the place and you see a lone cowboy in the saddle with the help of a few sheepdogs corraling the herd purely by the way he moves his horse around and by the calls he makes. Gracefully and neatly he tightens up the herd and turns it in the direction he wants the little bleaters to go. He creates a fence invisible 'round his woolies.It's that kind of skill, no, art that is so evident in these guys: keeping order in the herd, whittling rough branches for the spines of their tents, sleeping with one ear open for sounds of bear and wolverine, sharpshooting in the night aided only by lamp. These guys do it all and well. They can also midwife a ewe in the crisis of giving birth, find an udder for an orphaned lamb and cleanly, expertly fleece these critters when the wool is heavy.These cowboys never get rich inspite of a bagful of skills and talents that leave the viewer in respectful admiration. Watching the travail of these guys makes you realize you have never in your life known the true meaning of "hard work." This is a documentary without any taped-on background music and without any warm-toned narrator telling you what you're seeing. Not even Morgan Freeman. The footage tells the story without extraneous aids. The absence of other noise is welcome. This piece is awesome but it's also funny, not just in the humanity of the cowboys. There's some real comic talent among those woolies, too. Jim Smith