The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future

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The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future

Released May 19, 2023

1h 33m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

99%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

When thousands of fish die in a polluted river in southern Chile, Magdalena, a woman long-deceased, emerges amongst their lifeless bodies. Magdalena encounters her widowed husband, sending him into a state of shock and prompting the return of their daughter, Cecilia. Magdalena's presence and her effect on the environment stirs curiosity and fear among her family. As the past comes into focus, mother and daughter are met with the opportunity to change the future.

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Critics Consensus

With a hopeful tune, The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future basks in magical realism to deliver a compelling family drama swathed in a powerful environmental fable.

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Chloe Roddick

Sight & Sound

In spite of its missteps, The Cow Who Sang is an assured first feature that gently weaves an intimate, personal story about motherhood, family, trauma and loss into a wider fable about environmental ruin...

Dec 9, 2023

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Ty Burr

Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack)

There are moments of eerie movie magic here as well as a pervasive didacticism and at least one scene that’s lit like a telenovela. Alegria is one to watch, though, and so is the movie if you’re feeling chancy.

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 4, 2023

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Carlos Aguilar

Los Angeles Times

With finely tuned magical realist sensibilities, first-time writer-director Francisca Alegria launches into a hauntingly atmospheric tale that denounces humanity’s untenable relationship with the natural world.

May 25, 2023

Full Review

Joseph Tomastik

Loud and Clear Reviews

A soft plea for human decency and healing, bound together by past mistakes literally haunting these characters.

Rated: 3.5/5

Nov 2, 2024

Full Review

William Stottor

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

The almost aimless plotting of events contributes to scenes that either lack in resonance or fade away into relative obscurity.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 3, 2024

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Alessandra Rangel

InSession Film

At the center of the story, both Mia Maestro and Leonor Varela give heart-breaking and contrasting performances.

Dec 9, 2023

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Isa

A compelling movie in the magical realism tradition. The message of the film will challenge you, especially if youre thinking about our current ecological crisis.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/28/23

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Logan D

As fish are dying, a woman rises from the water to have a profound effect on a family. An intimate piece of magical realism that is at once eerie and narratively entrancing. It is a quietly paced film that is thoughtful, atmospheric, and abstract. I look forward to the director's next effort.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/11/25

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Colin L

This is a nice movie to watch, the story line is interesting

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/07/23

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tensionkoh s

Very good movie!!! You guys all should watch this fantastic movie!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/02/23

Full Review

Ravenswood R

Flaky conceptual weirdness that strives to make points about generational tensions and conflicts, inheritances, death, life, pollution, dreams, reality, relationships, sex and gender identity, communication, sadness, love, family, nature, humanity, mysticism, and maybe a few other things. An effort which is tedious, overstuffed and overwrought, which amounts to not very much in the end. At times interesting, and at other times weighed down by superficial, surrealistic attempts at meaning. Hippies and/or juggalos might think this is intelligent and insightful, but of course, there you have it - it is a little dopey.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/08/23

Full Review

Leon Y

Happy to watching on it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/03/23

Full Review

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Francisca Alegría

Director

Mía Maestro

Magdalena

Enzo Ferrada Rosati

Tomas

Benjamin Soto

Pablo

Leonor Varela

Cecilia

Frederique Gudelj

Arsenaiera

The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

When thousands of fish die in a polluted river in southern Chile, Magdalena, a woman long-deceased, emerges amongst their lifeless bodies. Magdalena encounters her widowed husband, sending him into a state of shock and prompting the return of their daughter, Cecilia. Magdalena's presence and her effect on the environment stirs curiosity and fear among her family. As the past comes into focus, mother and daughter are met with the opportunity to change the future.

Director: Francisca Alegría
Producer: Tom Dercourt, Alejandra García
Screenwriter: Francisca Alegría, Fernanda Urrejola, Manuela Infante
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Production Co: Match Factory Productions, Bord Cadre Films, Cinéma Defacto, Jirafa films, Das Kleine Fernsehspiel, Wood Producciones, Whitewater Films, Dialectic, Sovereign Films
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): May 19, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 18, 2023
Box Office (Gross USA): $31.4K
Runtime: 1h 33m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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