First Cow(12A)
28th Feb 2023Kelly Reichardt - 2019 122 mins
USA
Language English
A loner and cook, travels west and joins a group of Oregon fur trappers, only making a connection with a Chinese immigrant. The two collaborate on an unlikely business venture, the success of which depends on the prize cow of a wealthy local landowner.
Score: 50%
Some members' comments:
A gentle and wistful film about friendship, exploitation and greed. An extraordinary feat of filming. Atmospheric and hypnotic. A slow paced film with an uncertain ending but showing how hard life was in those times. Slow - natural lighting didn’t work so I found it disappointing. Surreal for all the wrong reasons. Technical problems and confusing sequence of scenes didn’t satisfy’ Is there a part 2? At best - enigmatic Spoilt by poor lighting. There were no credits for lighting designer - which didn’t surprise me. The film was visible which was a bonus - despite these shortcomings the storyline and recreation of the harsh conditions was excellent. There’s a technique known as ‘day for night’ used by film makers whereby a film is shot in daylight using a blue filter. This would have been a useful technique here. Technically as a film, C. As for enjoyment F-. John, I have no words! Words fail me! 70% in darkness- is this entertainment? Turgidity on wheels. I thought about what colour to paint my walls. I found no pleasure in this film. Think I must have lost my sense of imagination. Paint dries more entertainingly. Amorphous rubbish.