The Shepherd

The Shepherd recalls & commemorates the pilots who helped and "shepherded" home shot-up aircraft during World War II.

I didn't like it.

It's corny, predictable and shallow. Not quite sure why Disney has wasted its time on this?

It looks quite good. Visually it's convincing. But the story doesn't complete its most important arc. No spoilers.

Obviously a ghost story, but why bother?

John Travolta is probably behind all this, but despite his enthusiasm for flying, this isn't any kind of showcase for him or his production skills.

Can't be bothered to write more about this so.......£&....................

I do not know the short story by Frederick Forsyth . I am not familiar with aviation details . And I liked this short film, first for message, second for the pleasant story status before Christmas.

No doubts , many motives to critic him, including for political correctness drops and for some unrealism in large slices. But I love Gothic stories - and, in this case, its elements are well present, I saw with sympathy the craft of tension and I was just happy discovering John Travolta in a role reminding his early ones.

The sin ? Maybe predactibility. But it is a Disney film and Schedryk covers all defects .

The story is fine, but unremarkable.

What I found distracting was the subpar CGI. The plane looks like a plastic model during the exterior shots, an effect exxagerated by the studio lights shining all over it.

Similarly, you can easily discern the studio accent lighting in the eyes of the pilot, and on the surface of the cockpit cowling.

I never believed for an instant that the wayward pilot was actually in an aircraft. The monochromatic acting by Radcliffe was probably influenced by the fact that he was sitting in a mockup in a studio somewhere. The flat delivery of his lines merely underscored the low budget feel of this short.

Even the fog at the end looked like it was being generated just out of sight of the camera, and then being gently blown across the scene.

Travolta's appearance was probably filmed in a day... more likely just a couple of hours. He's... there... and that's all that can be said of him.

Found this while browsing Disney Plus and decided to give it a try, particularly as it's directed by Iain Softley who doesn't get nearly as much credit and recognition as he deserves (does anyone remember the excellent K-PAX for example?).

The movie draws us steadily into the story and maintains a mostly quiet and thoughtful atmosphere yet with some tension when required.

Not only did I enjoy the story but the visuals too - I am going to assume that the outside views of the aircraft when flying were CGI and not physical models with CGI 'enhancements', etc and, if so, they were very well created with a good sense of realism.

In summary: I enjoyed it a lot - despite the relatively short running time it never felt rushed.

Recommended.

I was pleasantly surprised with The Shepherd. It succeeds in making the use of every minute, it does not waste time and gets straight to its storyline and key events. Yet you do not feel it is rushed at all. I found myself feeling that maybe a lot of films and productions can take a page from their book. So many unnecessary features are added to many Christmas films, films in general. Sometimes stripping it back to its core basics and main plot points works. Simplicity can be very effective and wholesome. A nice little story was conveyed about the magic of Christmas, it was a good Samaritan in the air.