The Shepherd and the Bear sometimes has the look and feel of a fairy tale as it highlights quite beautifully the ongoing battle between environmentalists and traditionalists, or between humans and nature.
Filmmaker Max Keegan found the perfect protagonists for a film which aims to give space to all parties involved in a complex situation: the re-introduction of the brown bear into the Pyrenees, which became extinct in that area in 2004.
The re-introduction of the bear immediately sparked opposition from the thinning community of shepherds and hunters, who feared for their livelihood and their right to kill animals.
Keegan does not take sides – he follows the old shepherd Yves on his daily walks through the incredible beauty of the mountains, together with the young girl Lisa, who wants to follow in his footsteps. Yves is somewhere in his sixties, with a skin as tough as his mind, caused by the combination of sunshine and cigarettes.
On the other side there’s Cyril, a high school boy whose parents also herd sheep. He is obsessed with the beauty of nature, animals and especially the brown bear. His ambition in life is to encounter the predator, and the camera follows him closely on his many ventures into the wild. Cyril does not agree with his mother, who thinks shepherds should be able to shoot bears when they feel threatened.
All of the arguments for and against government regulation, animal rights and nature preservation pass by organically, during conversations, discussions, rallies and casual remarks. The red thread, while seasons pass, is the growing threat of an actual encounter between the bears and humans: there is evidence of the vicinity of the bears, sheep being killed, alleged sightings. Some shepherds are willing to give the environmentalists a chance, by working with the so-called bear scarers. But most shepherds just want the right to kill in self-defence or want to get rid of the bears all together. It raises the questions of whether humans have more rights than animals, and what is the value of human traditions, such as the herding of sheep, a profession threatened by extinction itself, because of the lack of successors.
One of the most captivating scenes is at the heart of the film, in the middle of the night. Cyril is out on a trek with environmental experts in search of the bear, while Yves is in his cabin, high up in the mountains with his flock of sheep. Keegan masterfully juxtaposes shots of the excited bear searchers with those of Yves in his candle lit hut. Suspension grows as a thunderstorm hits the area and the appearance of a bear seems imminent. The scenes are lit by either the headlights of the nature lovers, lightning or Yves’s flashlights. The soundscape derives from rolling thunder, dogs barking furiously, sheep bleating anxiously, Yves swearing and shouting, and ominous music swelling. It is an incredible piece of cinematography, timing and editing.
The film is extraordinary watchable, because of its remarkable characters, the suspense and the sometimes literally dazzling cinematography – the filmmaker goes all out in providing the most beautiful framing, compositions and shots of the amazing landscape – colours, endless views, contours of the jagged peaks alternating between intimate close-ups and moving drone shots – and everything between. It feels like a cinematographic love letter to the Pyrenees, and in that sense you could argue it stands with the bear, one of its original inhabitants. Nothing is solved, but at the end you feel closer to everyone and everything you’ve watched.
France/UK/US, 101 mins, French
Director Max Keegan
Production Elizabeth Woodward for WILLA, Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine, Max Keegan, Eleonore Voisard
Cinematography Clement Beauvois, Max Keegan
Editing Sabine Emiliani
Sound Design Nathalie Vidal, Samy Bardet
Music Amine Bouhafa
Screenplay Max Keegan, Sabine Emiliani
World Sales Submarine Entertainment
