The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

I pretty much knew after 20 minutes that this film was going nowhere, yet I toughed it out until the final credits. Very thin story with unremarkable characters, told at a painfully slow pace.One of the reasons I chose this film was in thinking that the cinematography might be able to carry the day. Unfortunately, that too was underwhelming. There was simply nothing to keep me involved and I was close to dozing off a handful of times.Can't fathom this film getting any kind of North American distribution deal. It just wouldn't have any broad appeal in these parts with its understated presentation and would be a tough sell even to the art house crowd.Screened at the 2012 SF International Film Festival

Although this movie has a timeless feeling to it, I can't help and feel it is dealing with very contemporary issues. A man fighting for what he believes in, surrounded by a harsh world where the rules of the game are slowly changing and money becomes more important than passion, even when your job is to bond with the land and the animals that live off it.The visual aspect of this movie is also very important. The photography is stunning, and the landscape is mesmerizing. It is a beautiful, poetic and subtle movie. I can only strongly recommend it, as it fits in the dire times we are all going through and we can all identify with it at some level. A beautiful lesson of cinema. I will be expecting John Shank's next movie with impatience. That man has what it takes.