Cow
Film8pm
Andrea Arnold has dealt with family bonds in her work before, but in ‘Cow’ she takes a documentary turn in chronicling the life of a mother cow named Luma over four years.
The film is shot from the animal’s physical point of view taking in the calving process, the rearing of the herd, intensive milking sessions, and grazing.
Arnold makes no attempt to ‘disneyfy’ the animal and approaches her subject with an honesty that is unflinching yet respectful. She says, ‘the film is an endeavour to consider cows. To move us closer to them. To see both the beauty and the challenge of their lives. Not in a romantic way but in a real way’.
raw, essential viewing. The Guardian
Dir. Andrea Arnold, UK, 2021, 94 mins
Part of the Project Animals Season