Sweetgrass

I missed this gem of a film at the New York Film Festival last year and finally watched it last night. Sweetgrass is a documentary about a Montana sheep farm. It's an unflinching, unsentimental look at a lost way of life. They filmed an annual event of driving sheep to high summer pastures with no narration or dialog at all. It's really quite something. The film moves very slowly, with lots of wide, sweeping shots, and the effect is hypnotic.



The sheep appear to be Rambouillets. The sheep bleating is the only soundtrack of the entire film.



There's a rather amusing foul-mouthed oration from a fed-up whiny-ass cowboy that was the only real gauge of mood in the film. It sounded like it should be coming from someone stuck in midtown-Manhattan traffic rather than out in the high open range. Range Rage, perhaps?

I would highly recommend checking this film out.

Notes on a Scandal knits

Has anyone seen "Notes on a Scandal"? Yes, I know it's more than five years since it's been out, but I'm a bit behind the times. It's a deliciously wicked psychological thriller with Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. It's about emotional blackmail with two equally despicable women and their conniving co-dependent friendship. A bundle of sunshine and flowers, really.

Anyway, I was in awe of some of the great handknits that Cate Blanchett wears throughout the film. She is seen in a delicate pink lace scarf:


(all images are from fox searchlight films)

She also wore several fab cardigans that I couldn't get good screenshots of, but one of them was a seafoam colored one with big cables running up the front in a fuzzy mohair blend.



Best of all were her fingerless gloves:



They appear to be either cabled or linen stitch on the palms, with large slinky-like welts at the start and end. Maybe not entirely practical, but I must have a pair of these. I have made it my life's mission to dissect these like a frog in middle school science class (everyone now: "Ewwwww!"). Eventually, I plan on having a similar pair. Wish me luck.