Documentary – International / UK Premiere

Showing @ Filmhouse 3, Mon 20 June @ 22:30 & Tue 21 June @ 19:45

Dieter Auner / Romania, Ireland / 2011 / 87 mins

Hidden within the political exposé of this documentary lurks a moral fable of freedom, to release the shackles of ruralised value in order to discover new pastures. Amidst the greenery of bucolic Transylvania, director Dieter Auner follows young shepherd Albin Creta and his family for a year as they struggle against marginalisation by food industry corporations and industrial produce.

Often showing the at times treacherous journeys the shepherds must undertake to transport their livestock for sale and trade, Auner alludes to the classism which suppresses the flourishing and growth of local farmers and land owners. And while depicting the often monotonous obligations the shepherds must adhere to, from milking and bathing goats to tackling threats to their livelihoods, there is always constant allusion to the social and political underpinnings which belittle the fragile innocence of their work – but never true investigation. What’s present then is more a window into their lives than an examination of industrial suppression; while at times the struggles of individual characters are heartening and touching, it can often feel vacant.

The documentary tries hard not to show the shepherds and their families in a sympathetic light, but rather triumphant as the workers all appreciate the closeness of their community and the value of their contribution to society. Yet they are restricted by social stratification, in their case, forced into the working-class arena of hard labour in which “working for 20 hours a day” is standard. In reality, it’s tragic to see a view of the world manipulated by the standardisation of the 100-hour week in which many of the men find their lives dominated by brands (there’s a jarringly long shot of Albin eating Pringles). And yet the allusion continues throughout film without true questioning, which, given the message embedded in the documentary, needs to be teased out further.