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Summer Pasture

Play trailer Poster for Summer Pasture 2010 1h 26m Documentary Biography Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 62% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A Tibetan nomad and his family face a critical time as increasing pressures from the outside world threaten their way of life.

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Summer Pasture

Critics Reviews

View All (9) Critics Reviews
John Hartl Seattle Times The filmmakers may not explain everything that passes before their cameras (why is caterpillar fungus such a hot commodity?), but that's part of the intrigue in this vanishing way of life. Rated: 3/4 Dec 29, 2011 Full Review Robert Abele Los Angeles Times Has an earthy intimacy and compassion for its subjects that will have you thinking about their plight long after they've packed up and moved on for winter. Rated: 4/5 Sep 15, 2011 Full Review Stephanie Merry Washington Post The success of a documentary so often hinges on the choice of subjects as much as the topic, and directors Lynn True and Nelson Walker hit the jackpot with Yama, Locho and their unnamed infant daughter. Rated: 3/4 Aug 19, 2011 Full Review Cynthia Fuchs PopMatters Yama doesn't need to seek work, as she reveals throughout the remarkable documentary, Summer Pasture. Sep 8, 2011 Full Review Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice An intimate, rounded, and realistic documentary about a charming, hard-working couple who are Tibetan nomads. Rated: 5/5 Aug 16, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (5) audience reviews
Audience Member I'm finally catching up on all the Independent Lens shows that I have DVRd. Hail PBS! Thanks to this network and this film, I have nothing but total respect and admiration for the nomads of Tibet. I have been schooled on an area of the world I didn't know much about, and am in awe of the hard work and patience that one Tibetan woman, Yama, demonstrates on a day in, day out basis. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Wonderfully humbling peek into Tibetan living. Can't wait to watch it again with my daughters. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member my first, and probably only film in SIFF 2011, Summer Pasture is a priceless documentary in portraying (probably) a lost lifestyle, what with modernization pressuring people to seek a better livelihood in towns and cities. the couple on film, excellently showed us the harshness of their environment, and the difficult choices they had to make to make a better future for their infant daughter. the view where the yaks graze may be breathless, but new telephone poles and roads are never too far away at the next valley. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member As natural as a mother napping while her babe suckles her breast, and just as extraordinary. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member "Follow the yak's tail." I suddenly thought I'd never been camping. SUMMER PASTURE is a documentary about nomads living in Tibet, in a region where 40% of the population once lived a nomadic lifestyle, but in recent years 90% of these communities have settled in towns, due to economic modernization and pressure from China. It follows one family grouping, consisting of 2 brothers and 3 sisters living in 3 separate tents, focusing one husband and wife and their infant daughter. Aside from the gorgeous scenery, SUMMER PASTURE offers excellent characterization, and the husband and wife are brought to life as fully-realized characters. One the one hand they're leading a life few Americans (even thee livestock farmers) could imagine: picking up yak manure by hand, spreading it, drying it in the sun, and burning it (a labor that begins and closes the film, one of several demanding tasks). On the other hand they're using Johnson's Baby Wipes, contemplating death and bad health, and facing the seasons. Recommended! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Summer Pasture

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Movie Info

Synopsis A Tibetan nomad and his family face a critical time as increasing pressures from the outside world threaten their way of life.
Director
Lynn True, Nelson Walker III
Producer
Lynn True, Nelson Walker III
Genre
Documentary, Biography, Drama
Original Language
Tibetan
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 29, 2017
Runtime
1h 26m
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