In den USA ist die Dokumentation „Sweetgrass“, ein Film über einen großen Schaftreck in Montana, auf DVD erschienen. 8 Jahre haben Ilisa Barbash und Lucien Castaing-Taylor gedreht, um die harte Arbeit einiger weniger „Cowboys“ mit ca. 3.000 Schafen in einer eindrucksvollen Landschaft zu zeigen.
Der Film wurde von Kritikern in den USA einhellig gefeiert. Er erinnert an „Grass“ (1924) von Merian C. Cooper und Ernest B. Schoedsack über den Zug von 50.000 Bakhtiari mit einer halben Million Tieren.
„Shot by Mr. Castaing-Taylor, who, from all the tail-level visuals seems to have spent a lot of time crouching or on his knees, “Sweetgrass” is often astonishingly beautiful, even if the image quality of the video sometimes disappoints. Mr. Castaing-Taylor has an extraordinary eye: he takes you right into the center of the herd so it almost feels as if you’re jostling alongside the animals as they rush for food or surge up a ravine. As can be the case with some observational movies, the absence of narration proves very freeing: without a voice chattering in your ear, you can immerse yourself in the movie on your own terms as you watch and really listen to the people, the animals, the whole blooming, buzzing confusion.
The movie truly belongs to the sheep, which turn out to be fascinating, almost hypnotic subjects for the camera, whether they’re comically bleating at one another like rush-hour subway riders or swarming across the range like a single organism. (Manohla Dargis: Montana Cowboys Lead, Coax and Cajole Their Charges Amid a Chorus of Bleats. New York Times)