Directed by Max Keegan, high in the French Pyrenees, the reintroduction of wild bears in a traditional shepherding community provokes deep conflict. An aging shepherd struggles to find a successor as bears prey on his flock, and a teenage boy becomes obsessed with tracking the bear.
Starting off with the strongest elements of The Shepherd and the Bear, the visuals and the tone. There is some genuinely excellent cinematography (from Max Keegan and Clement Beauvois), an intriguing score and an atmosphere filled with tension. At times it almost harks to Christopher Andrews’ Bring Them Down, it adds a touch of thriller and threat, which in turn added to all of the above gives the documentary a very cinematic feel. However, it doesn’t feel as though Keegan used that to its full potential, as the film moves forward it loses its footing and gets pulled in different directions.
You can certainly see that the intention is to present both sides of the conflict, those that want to prioritise hunting and shepherding, and those who want to preserve the natural order and encourage the conservation of the local wildlife. However, it’s unclear what its ultimate message is, is it a melancholy homage to how traditional shepherding is being lost? Or is it trying to show that nature shouldn’t be respected and not dictated by man? That there needs to be a better balance found between then two? It lands somewhere between all three and that doesn’t work as effectively.
The stories of the shepherd and the young man with a passion for wildlife photography don’t blend very well. It almost feels like it would have served The Shepherd and the Bear better, to simply focus on the shepherd and the bear. They also initially introduce a young woman who was attempting to take up the mantle of the shepherd and faced a number of obstacles, her story was actually a great fit, but it was phased out too quickly.
Additionally, the sudden switch to exploring the hunting side of things felt misplaced, especially employing a lot of violent imagery. It’s a good example of how The Shepherd and the Bear can feel unfocused, it starts out on very strong footing but the more it progresses, the more it loses its grip. The knock-on effect of that being not holding onto your attention as well, which then lessens your investment in the story it’s trying to portray.
Given that The Shepherd and the Bear is the directorial debut of Max Keegan, it shows a great deal of potential. There are strong visuals and intention, he manages to strike a bold tone and create a compelling, tense atmosphere. There’s a lot of elements which work really well but it feels unfocused. There’s a tendency to try and fit more in, rather than being able to sit in the quiet, and let the shepherd’s story speak for itself, as there is plenty to say and he was a strong choice for a subject.
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