Losing the West

This far-reaching documentary begins as a charming portrait of a real-life Marlboro Man—70-year-old Colorado cowboy Howard Linscott—before expanding into a larger story about the vanishing of Linscott's world of ranching and farming. A grizzled and humorous character, Linscott is seen here moving herds of cattle over terrain in all kinds of weather, well aware that his job is an important link in the commercial food chain. Filmmaker Alex Warren captures scenes of traditional ranching rituals such as branding and ranch hands watching over the births of calves. All of this feels warm and reassuring, especially given America's longtime infatuation with cowboys, but then Warren drops the other shoe: this way of life is disappearing as climate change impacts land and water, and unchecked development gobbles up terrain for suburban expansion. Men like Linscott—and the women who work just as hard on ranches—are facing serious challenges, even as the general populace becomes increasingly more remote from their food sources. Warren's interviewees in the world of environmental science and activism offer some promising solutions, but there's no escaping the sense that our love affair with the Old West is all but behind us. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)