In 2020, Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw released The Truffle Hunters, a surprisingly affecting documentary about old men, their dogs and the search for truffles in the forests of Piedmont. Their new film, Gaucho Gaucho: Argentina’s Last Ranchers, is also about a traditional way of life that is in decline. Here, the subject is Argentinian gauchos – cowboys and cowgirls – who ride and tame horses, herd cattle and wear handmade traditional clothing. They have a relationship to the land that was forged in a different age and now exists in friction with much of the modern world. The film took two years to make – and it is mesmerising.
A handful of characters run through the documentary, which is part of the BBC’s Storyville strand. Guada is a teenage girl in training to become a gaucho, like her father. We first meet her at school, where she is being punished for not sticking to the regulation clothing. The teacher tells her she must respect the school uniform; rules are rules. “I only feel comfortable in gaucho clothes,” she replies. It is a nice way to frame the tension between the old and new worlds. She is an outsider in both. Female gauchos are rare and the support from her father and her community is contagious. By the end, you are willing her to achieve her dreams.
