Winter Nomads

An exhilarating vérité work by first-timer Manuel von Stürler, the documentary follows this seasonal migration, or transhumance, with a sense of quiet awe and intimacy, capturing the feel of cold rain, deep snow and the comforting heat of a campfire.

Von Stuerler’s debut showcases nature, but its real theme is its subjects’ engagement with their work.

Von Stürler offers raw footage of the four-month trek itself, which is often mesmerizing in its austere beauty; there's no narration, intertitles, or any other authorial hand-holding to trump up the message the images already convey on their own.

What little we learn of Pascal, who has worked in Switzerland as a shepherd for more than 30 years, and Carole, who is a former dietitian, fits in a scene or two, but their practical journey yields a certain contemplative equanimity.

An unassuming and suitably gentle-paced charmer.