Film | Galloping across the Pampas

Dust-dry sand, three gauchos gallop on their horses between thorny bushes. The pampa is vast and barren, the horses fast and agile. The gauchos almost fly along with their horses. The black-and-white images make the structures even more striking. Individual gnarled trees, cacti, and a sprinkling of grass. It hasn't rained for a long time. Too long. A cow that has strayed from the freely grazing herd is being searched for. The gauchos find it dead at a dried-up watering hole. The three of them stand around the dead cow, their hats off, in their hands. A mourning ritual full of respect. They live alongside the animals. The film "Gaucho Gaucho" shows in careful shots how close they are to their horses, their cattle. There are more and more condors circling above the herds, about to kill a calf; two other gauchos discuss this with concern. The Andes are close, Buenos Aires is far away.

In three parallel storylines, "Gaucho Gaucho" tells of life in a remote, rural community of gaucho families in northern Argentina. Traditions are held in high esteem, and so it's not easy for 17-year-old Guada to assert herself in the male-dominated world of horseback riding and cattle herding and become a gaucha.

Your word is yours, you don't let anyone tell you what to do, fight for your interests.

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Her storyline beautifully demonstrates the importance of the trust she builds between horse and rider. In a scene shot in a very typical manner for the film, she sits across from her father at the wooden table, which has been scrubbed smooth by years of rubbing. The composition is symmetrical. She listens attentively as he encourages her to do what she wants.

The second storyline follows Solano, a young father, as he teaches his five-year-old son all the skills he will later need as a gaucho: knife sharpening, weaving a lasso, using a machete in the undergrowth. 84-year-old Lelo once explains to the boy how important it is to uphold the values ​​of a gaucho: your word is yours, you don't let anyone tell you what to do, you fight for your interests. What sounds archaic is primarily due to the harsh living conditions – even farming is carried out using only the simplest of technical means. A real gaucho is a gaucho gaucho, emphasizes the old man with the full white beard. In his belt, he traditionally wears an impressively large gaucho knife.

It shows Guada having a jacket made for a large jineteada. A major event. Santino, who also hosts the local radio station, leads the event and introduces the riders, including one female rider. The goal of a jineteada is to stay on the back of a wild horse, which is assigned to you shortly beforehand by lot, for as long as possible. The next day, Guada is limping in front of the house on simple wooden crutches, but it was worth it, she explains on another occasion.

"Gaucho Gaucho" isn't really a documentary, but rather a fascinating, ethnographic feature film with its visual language, which also shows what the two directors want to see. But it does so with such beautiful artistry and empathy that it's a joy to watch. Just as it is to listen to. At the end, the presenter, Santino, sings "Ojos Azules" himself, and at the beginning, in a riding scene, "Au Fond Du Temple Saint – Le Pecheurs de Perles" by George Bizet can be heard. The gauchos flying by on horseback are a poetic combination.

»Gaucho Gaucho«: USA/Argentina 2024, director: Michael Deck Gregory Kershaw,. With: Guada Gonza, Mario Choque, Alcira Gutierrez. 85 minutes, start: September 11th.