Shepherds

It's the story of a Quebecois man, Mathyas (Félix-Antoine Duval), who leaves his public relations job to become a shepherd in Provence, France. He takes on a position and has some bad experiences and some exhilarating experiences. He meets a young French woman, Elise (Solène Rigot), who partners with him to become a shepherdess. The film is partly based on Mathyas Lefebure's experiences related in a 2006 novel.

"Bergers" contains some stunning cinematography, with masses of sheep moving almost like a river and the French Alps where the sheep summer. Duval and Rigot are attractive as young spirits seeking to escape hum-drum urban life. Bruno Raffaelli and Michel Benizri portray good villains, and Guilaine Londez and David Ayala are satisfactory as sympathetic partners. The storyline contains gaps--especially about Mathyas's learning process and how he became competent so quickly. Some subtexts don't get developed, e.g., the actual reasons for Mathyas's falling out with Ahmed. But the cinematography makes it worthwhile.