LUMI Reviews- First Cow: An Udderly Mooving Watch on Earth Day

Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow offers an alternative frontier story, a subdued and restrained microcosm of the pursuit of the American dream in 1800s Oregon. It is an exploration of the possibilities that nature presents to find purpose and peace, as well as comfort and companionship in an increasingly capitalistic society.

Cookie, the chef and forager for a rambunctious travelling party, immediately stands apart from the typical hyper-masculine frontiersman of this genre, defined instead by his soft spoken nature and placidness. This is immediately apparent in the way he interacts with the nature that surrounds him, carefully helping small creatures as he looks to the forest for nourishment.

Even though he is downtrodden and constantly ridiculed by his company, Cookie’s gentleness in unwavering. While searching for food he comes across King-Lu hiding amongst the brush, a Chinese immigrant on the run for killing a Russian man. Despite already being short on food and resources, Cookie chooses to help and shelter King-Lu after his honest introduction and plea for help. Cookie offers sanctuary until King-Lu can escape by swimming downstream to safety the next day, once again using the surrounding earth and rivers as camouflage to escape danger.

Cookie’s kindness is repaid when he splits with the travelling party and reunites with King-Lu in a nearby town where he is invited to stay in King-Lu’s newfound shed. Leaving behind the smoggy and suffocating town, the men retreat to the luscious greenery and vitality of the forest. Where the men were met with hostility and suspicion in town, in the woods they are free from the expectations and volatility displayed by larger society. They are free to build a home together, to bond and confide in each other, sharing their dreams of self-sufficiency.

An opportunity for this dream to materialise comes in the form of the titular cow, arriving by barge on a chorus of banjos, disrupting the largely diegetic and naturalistic soundscape of the film thus far. As the first cow in the region, belonging to the wealthy Chief Factor, the locals are in awe as if she were a mystical creature. From here the heist begins, to milk the cow secretly at night and use her milk to produce baked goods that the men can then sell at market. King-Lu’s charisma and pragmatism, and Cookie’s skill and warmth, make them perfect business partners, their success instantaneous.

The pair don’t just benefit monetarily from their enterprise. Rather than being forced to endure a solitary existence tied up in the Chief Factor’s meadow, the cow is given a comforting and consistent companion in Cookie. As King-Lu keeps watch on lookout, Cookie milks the cow with an air of reverence and respect. Strikingly, during their first late night heist, Cookie takes time to offer condolences to the cow for having lost her mate and calf on the long journey to the settlement. As he did with King-Lu, Cookie forms an affinity with the cow, both being isolated outsiders, treating her gently and tenderly. Once again, Cookie’s empathy for those around him pays dividends, enriching and bringing a contentment to his life.

While their risky dealings eventually begin to threaten the utopia it created, the forest remains an omniscient observer throughout. Shot in an observational style, the characters are permitted to inhabit the frame rather than dominate, that job is left to their stunning surroundings. The majesty and vastness of the forest and rivers are the lifeblood of the film, infusing it with vivacity. While the characters are constantly on the move, the forest remains steadfast, both serene and imposing, leaving us with the knowledge that it will remain long after the characters have gone.

First Cow bestows the opportunity to slow down as it meanders through the stunning landscapes of Oregon. The film poses the notion that no matter the path life takes, it can only be enriched and nurtured by an increased connectivity to the earth and to each other, an apt ethos to ponder this Earth Day.

Our LUMI Presents screening of First Cow is on Earth Day, April 22nd at 6.30pm.