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The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future

Play trailer 2:02 Poster for The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future 2023 1h 33m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future

The Cow Who Sang a Song Into 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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Critics Reviews

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Chloe Roddick Sight & Sound 12/09/2023
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... Go to Full Review Ty Burr Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack) 08/04/2023
2.5/4
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. Go to Full Review Carlos Aguilar Los Angeles Times 05/25/2023
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. Go to Full Review Joseph Tomastik Loud and Clear Reviews 11/02/2024
3.5/5
A soft plea for human decency and healing, bound together by past mistakes literally haunting these characters. Go to Full Review William Stottor FILMHOUNDS Magazine 09/03/2024
3/5
The almost aimless plotting of events contributes to scenes that either lack in resonance or fade away into relative obscurity. Go to Full Review Alessandra Rangel InSession Film 12/09/2023
At the center of the story, both Mia Maestro and Leonor Varela give heart-breaking and contrasting performances. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Isa 05/28/2023 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. See more Logan D @Greynomad38 04/11/2025 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. See more Ravenswood R @RT16435246 08/07/2023 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. See more Nicholas K @vonlicorice 06/11/2023 Lots going on here – magical realism, ecological fable, family drama, queer coming out storyline. For me it really worked and left me in a pleasant haze. See more Read all reviews
The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future

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Cast & Crew

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Francisca Alegría

Director

Mía Maestro

Magdalena

Enzo Ferrada Rosati

Tomas

Benjamin Soto

Pablo

Leonor Varela

Cecilia

Frederique Gudelj

Arsenaiera
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The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future

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The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future

The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future (2022) The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future (2022) The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future (2022) The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future (2022) View more photos

Movie Info

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)