'Cow' A Review

Cow is a documentary about a diary cow in the UK. With no dialog or narration the film simply follows the titular cow up-close-and-personal with hand held footage(with a couple brief aerial shots) over an unspecified amount of time.

The film is stylistically specific and requires a certain amount of patience but offers a gentle unobtrusive look at the life of this animal on which humans so rely. There is virtually no judgement or indication as to what to feel about the film so it is very open to whatever the viewer sees in the unknowable eyes of it's subject. It is easy to project human emotion onto the 'narrative' but also just as easy to see nature's alien indifference(to quote Herzog). Either way it's compelling.

The camera work is immersive and there's some beautiful pasture shots as well as an attention to the mundane life in the barn which has it's own kind of magnetism. No score other than diegetic music played for the cows while they are milked, it all comes together to impart a view of the life of an animal, it's effective, and other than an ending which feels a bit cheap(if not dishonest), a rewarding experience.

Intriguing, hypnotic, almost meditative. Refreshing in it's lack of overt intent.

Currently streaming on AMC+ and available to rent on most VOD platforms.

See It.