The Shepherd and the Bear review – two endangered species scrap for survival in the Pyrenees

Farmers oppose the reintroduction of brown bears in Max Keegan’s immersive and beautiful documentary that resists snap judgments There are two endangered species native to the Pyrenees featured in this immersive and rather beautiful documentary shot in Ariège, southwestern France, by British film-maker Max Keegan. The first is the brown bear, which was hunted out of existence in the region by the early 2000s. Now the bears are back, around 70 of them, thanks to efforts by conservationists backed by the European Union. The film opens with footage of a 200kg delivery by helicopter, lowering a crate on to the mountainside out of which a bear comes thundering out. The airmail delivery is necessary because of local opposition – farmers are barricading the roads, painting “no to bears” on the tarmac, saying that bears kill their livestock. Shepherd Yves, 63 – flat cap, cigarette dangling from his mouth – is against the reintroduction of the bears. He is training Lisa, a shepherd in her 20s, but their way of life is the other endangered species, with few young people joining the industry.