Al amparo del cielo

Es würde AL AMPARO DEL CIELO nicht gerecht, ihn schlicht als Dokumentarfilm über die Wanderweidewirtschaft mit Schafen einzuordnen: Das körnige, kontrastreiche Schwarzweiß im 16mm-Format mit Flecken und Kratzern erinnert an Robert Flaherty und ein ethnografisches Kino. Acosta überrascht jedoch die Zuschauer:innen, indem er die Möglichkeiten des Materials zur Gänze ausschöpft und so sein Werk auf die experimentelle Ebene hebt – die gefinkelte Tonspur trägt das Ihre dazu bei. Das Kino ist das am besten geeignete Medium, um Träume zu registrieren, sagt er. Hier sind es die von Don Cucho, dem Maultiertreiber. (Ferdinand Keller)

This is not strictly an observational film, though it fulfills the requirements of the sub-genre: a group of men, an ancient activity, animals, a landscape. There are several films about shepherds, and others about scenarios as vast as the Andes, but not many like this. The composition of each shot seems to be born from the meticulous study of light in space, as well as from the love he gives to those he portrays and the sheep they care for, an unusual virtue in the many attempts to transform the cinematographic camera into an instrument of direct and self-sufficient knowledge.
Following the footsteps of the shepherds is an experience in the perception of unexpected optical and sonorous pleasures: the faces of those who live under the shelter of the sky, the infinite panoramic views over the hundreds of sheep, the discovery of the nocturnal glow in the eyes of the animals that is accompanied by a sound concept that varies as the film progresses. Eventually it attains an unclassifiable abstraction in mysterious harmony with the silent, impenetrable rock of the mountain range. The analogue black and white is glorious, and when this chromatic decision is “betrayed”, the beauty in the story shines forth even more brightly. Acosta’s shots offer pure astonishment. (Roger Koza)

Diego Acosta Hernández: LEVIATÁN: EL JUEGO (2004)