And Now Miguel 1953

Directed by Joseph Krumgold

This slim documentary commissioned by the US Information Service concerns Hispanic shepherds in New Mexico. The makeshift narrative centers on Miguel, a boy on the cusp of puberty who wants nothing more than to go to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and help tend to the sheep like his father and older siblings. It's evocatively shot with a striking sense of place and a good feel for farm life. The film was obviously shot on the cheap (voiceover narration is used in lieu of dialogue, and the film seems to have been fully post-dubbed, sometimes badly), but it's an engaging peek into a rural lifestyle few of us would otherwise experience.