William L
Totally unexpected; Mehrjui's The Cow is a piece of social criticism that bathes in its uniquely insular setting - a village in rural Iran - and a simple premise, a man's unexpected loss of his most treasured possession, his cow. As the only cow in the village, it is a status symbol that has evolved beyond simple property for Emizami's Masht Hasam, but an object that his affections (and perhaps pride) have attributed a vital importance to; as a result, when he loses it, he suffers a complete mental collapse as his identity simply cannot accept such a profound change. Exacerbating his plight is the village itself, which has sought to keep the knowledge of the cow's death from Hasam for as long as possible, but not for his own sake. Instead, Mehrjui presents the community as a seething mass of religious paranoia, superstition, and conservatism in its rigid beliefs and total inability to help Hasam through his struggle, leading to distressing results. The denial of mortality itself despite its objectivity by all parties, interlaced with religious implications, is presented as a clear human weakness in no uncertain terms.
In a world where so many nascent film industries could find reasonably solid ground creating films heavy on human elements with a dash of local culture and expect a reasonable chance of success, The Cow is a brilliant exploration of human nature that levels serious criticisms towards tenants of longstanding Iranian culture. (4/5)
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
07/27/21
Full Review
s r
1001 movies to see before you die. A sad Iranian film about a small village and the owner of a cow. Fascinating look into Iranian culture. A well made film. It was on YouTube.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
david l
The Cow is a terrific film that benefits from a great neorealist approach with a very realistic plot and characters, but also having such a strong emotional grip with many moving scenes in it. The film isn't perfect, but it is mostly great with excellent directing and acting, realistic characters and such a heartbreaking story to it. It is in the end rightfully considered to be an Iranian classic.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Simple story, powerful film.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/08/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Six years after Farrokhzad's love letter to the beauty of humanity and the fortitude of the human spirit, Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui directed <i>Gaav</i>, which is claimed to be the beginning of the Iranian New Wave in feature films.
Classic Asian cinema, excluding the versatility of Japan, which has a long celluloid trajectory that dates back since the times of the silent era, put a lot of emphasis on either rural life, human relationships, or both, most of the times packaged with symbolic folklore representative of the country's culture filling the empty lines of what was left unspoken. South Korea, Turkey and Egypt are the most important examples, as their testaments remain being seen today. Iran was added to the list in 1969, and the elements are basically the same. <i>Gaav</i> tells the story of a village's cow and the relationship that his owner had with it. When the cow is found dead in a barn one morning, the entire village is turned upside down when the owner does not react humanly. Gradually, the owner starts to become the cow himself.
This is the most important plot point because, regardless of the multiple interpretations it can be subject to, the interpretation will most probably work best if held within the boundaries of the Iranian society, or a "comparable" rural lifestyle. This type of rural life has gone unchanged for thousands of years. Maybe the film is a comment on the strong inertia that a lifestyle might face by its people in the presence of invading enemies disturbing the peace of an isolated, small environment, or the one that might rise when social or technological modernities demand that ancient lifestyle to be changed. Here, there is a denial of death, a fundamentalist ideal of conservatism. Nevertheless, this is the most inappropriate way to evolve. The film even seems to make a comment regarding how, if this inertia subsists, this system might perish.
Then again, there is another very exquisite interpretation stating that the cow is meant to symbolize Iranian cinema, in the danger of its death, and with its death, it would be saddening for its followers as they would be, once again, deprived of an alternate means of expression, like cancelling a new window that has the capacity to show several facets of life itself, and ideas that we would never have thought of.
With its historical importance being almost matched by its quality, <i>Gaav</i> contains a message personalized for the viewer, regardless of the age, gender, country, beliefs and generation, with a very unusual plot that demands suspension of disbelief in order to feel rather than to think of a rationalized interpretation in a futile attempt to come up with a logical sense of things.
94/100
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
Full Review
Audience Member
An interesting & slight film that really put Iran on the map cinematically & the film did good business.
The story of an Iranian Peasant who owns a Cow that he loves dearer than his wife. One day he heads to the city & his Cow is killed by local bandits. Townspeople terrified claim the cow ran away.
The man returns & quickly falls into despair & descents slowly into madness & believes he is the Cow. A simple story but filled with cultural references & terrific performances.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
Full Review
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