Though the tale of these wry, hard-bitten lives is told with neither music nor a narrating voice, the final effect is not to numb or confound the viewer but, rather, to cast a spell.

| May 26, 2020

Strange to relate that one of the year's most striking cinematic experiences so far is a documentary starring 3,000 sheep.

| Jul 6, 2018

[The directors] portray something indelible by capturing the rancher's old-hand ways.

| Sep 24, 2014

A tenaciously observed and a quietly absorbing ethnography about a pair of shepherds leading some 3,000 sheep on a 150-mile journey up into Montana's Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains for summer pasture.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 26, 2011

The images, including sheep on the move up near vertical hills, are remarkable, the landscape spectacular, the unsentimental account of back-breaking, backside-aching work impressive.

| Apr 23, 2011

This beautiful and hypnotic documentary shows the agony and the ecstasy of herding sheep up into Montana's Beartooth mountains for the summer pasture.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 21, 2011

It would be foolish not to experience this film.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 21, 2011

I have no doubt that, come the end of the year, Sweetgrass will be on the "10 Best" lists. It is that memorable for pictorial, cultural and even moral reasons.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 21, 2011

Sweetgrass is probably the definition of niche, but one dedicated to some of the highest ideals of film: it brings us information from a place we've never been, and with a rapturous innocence.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 20, 2011

If there's anything we can learn from the creatures here, it's that any day in which you don't get stripped of your coat or eaten by a bear is probably a good one.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 22, 2010

There are audience rewards for sticking with the herd and its lonesome cowboys.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 16, 2010

Even viewers caught unaware of just how natural this documentary is could easily find themselves mesmerized by its unique charms.

| Jun 28, 2010

Sweetgrass' unbroken shots of often-repetitive activity have a beguiling quality to them, their very monotony encouraging a deeper absorption and reflection, but hard facts aren't easy to come by.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 18, 2010

Instead of rounding up information, this documentary about an arduous sheep drive across Montana is driven by the beauty of the landscape.

Full Review | Jun 17, 2010

It's a gorgeous and, believe it or not, riveting documentary...about sheep.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 21, 2010

It may not be your thing, but Sweetgrass is unlike anything you'll see in a theater this year. It bravely strays from the flock.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Apr 23, 2010

If you're used to the ADD pace of modern filmmaking, Sweetgrass will probably drive you crazy. If you can adjust, it could widen your soul.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 1, 2010

Sweetgrass is an unexpectedly intoxicating documentary, unexpected because it blends high artistic standards with the grueling reality of one of the toughest, most exhausting of work environments.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 25, 2010

In an extraordinary series of tableaux that are alternately idyllic and severe, Sweetgrass defies the conventions of what most of us regard as a documentary film.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 25, 2010

What starts out looking like a 4H film soon develops narrative power, and a rough natural humor. You'll be hearing bleating in your sleep for days, which is more pleasant than it sounds.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 12, 2010