This magical "new" movie has the most beautiful ending of the year

Joe 2022-01-20 08:01:15

In the outskirts of the morning, a black dog sniffs aimlessly on the mud, while a woman not far away picks up and plays with stones, and the picture is quiet and pleasant. It didn't take long for the black dog to seem to be smelling something, and it kept wagging its tail.

The woman following the black dog discovered the situation and immediately blasted the black dog aside. She pushed aside the soft soil and found the skull that had already melted bones. She continued to plow the soil carefully until two complete bones came into view.

This is the opening paragraph of the new film "The First Cow" by one of the most important female directors of our time. This American alternative western, which was shortlisted for the main competition of the Berlin Film Festival at the beginning of the year, showed the audience the special friendship and broken American dream of two men during the Westward Movement in the early 19th century.

The film "The First Cow" is adapted from the original novel "Half Life" by writer Jonathan Raymond. Like Kelly Rechard’s previous six feature films, the film’s audience is still limited to the category of fans who love independent films, and it has also received unanimous praise from film critics and film media.

Reichardt has not won important awards at a film festival with authoritative influence, but this does not prevent her from increasing influence in film critics. The reason for this can be found in her creation.

Immediately after the appearance of the two bones in "The First Cow", the next shot brought the audience back to the 1820s. The camera was aimed at the body and face of a gray-headed young man. This young man's real name is Otis Figowitz. Because he is responsible for cooking for his colleagues, others habitually call him Cookie.

Cookie is an unremarkable member of the millions of migrants who are eager to obtain wealth in the Westward Movement of the United States, and will be destined to be submerged in the long river of history. Born in Maryland, he had a tragic life. The passing of his parents led him to live a life of insecurity since he was a child. There is nothing worthy of his concern.

One night, Cookie found King Lu hungry and naked deep in the jungle. King Lu is an immigrant from China. The reason why he looks embarrassed is because he is being hunted down by the Russians.

The kind Cookie sent King Lu food and blankets to cover his body. After finding out what happened to King Lu, Cookie decided to help him. This was the first meeting between Cookie and King Lu, and they separated soon after.

After a long journey, Cookie and his team finally reached their destination, where he parted ways with the others, or, to be more precise, he was left behind by his fellow travellers. Cookie and King Lu, who came to the bar to relax, met again. The two had a good conversation in King Lu's cabin, and they became closer to each other than ever before.

The chief here, Factor, ordered two adult cows and a calf from afar, but when they were shipped here, only the adult cows finally supported her, and she was the first cow in the area. King Lu wanted to make money from pancakes, but he needed the cow's milk to enhance the flavor of the pancakes. After discussing with King Lu, Cookie decided to steal milk at night.

The response of the pie was unexpectedly good, so that the supply fell short of demand for many days. Seeing the huge business opportunities in front of them, the two of them were a little forgetful. They frequently went to steal the cow's milk in the middle of the night, thinking that they would be able to get rich, but the secret was soon revealed.

In order to avoid being chased by Factor, King Lu jumped into the river while fleeing, and because of his courage, Cookie hid in a sheltered area with dense vegetation, and the two separated again...

Capitalism and the birth of a country

Obviously, "The First Cow" is a film about the spirit of capitalism and the pioneering history of the United States. In an interview with relevant media, Reichardt unhesitatingly pointed out the direct connection between the film and capitalism. Whether it is the old capital of a region represented by Factor, or the new capital power of King Lu and Cookie as vendors, they are all part of a capitalist market model in a symbolic sense.

As an immigrant country built in history and culture and not long ago, the birth of the United States contains a certain innate sense of violence and alienation, which is subtlely reflected in the silent Native Indians, especially Indian women. As an immigrant from China, the fact that King Lu was hunted down by Russians is also a reflection of American immigration politics to some extent.

In a sense, the "American Dream" was the fuse that drove people toward the further slaughter of Indians in the Westward Movement. But Rechard did not attempt to deconstruct the history of colonialism between immigrants and natives in the American continent. Instead, she dexterously injected this background into the fate of the two immigrant protagonists, allowing them to chase after " The failure of the "American Dream" dispelled the falsehood of the "American Dream" at close range.

The ambiguity between men and men from the perspective of women

In Rechard’s films, the five big and three rough, tough male images are eternally absent. In Rechard’s aesthetic orientation of characters, she prefers those who are sensitive, look weak or not so sexy. Male image. This has been fully revealed in the film "Yesterday's Joy", which focuses on men, and "Operation Night", which involved important male characters.

2006 "Yesterday's Joy"

2013 "Operation Night"

From the above perspective, the men in Rechard's films are actually a stereotyped masculinity. The gender disappears under the intervention of the female perspective. Therefore, the expression logic of the emotions of both sexes is very close to the beauty of temperament. It's no wonder why the male protagonist in Mel Mello's short story "Beth Davis" turned into a woman in Kelly Rechard's "A Certain Woman".

2016 "Some Woman"

Just as the opening quoted the phrase "birds build nests, spiders weave webs, and people make friends" in William Black's "Hell Proverbs", the film "The First Cow" is a movie about "people making friends", Cookie The relationship with King Lu is indeed a normal male friendship category. But to attribute this relationship purely to friendship is undoubtedly rude.

Rechard does not oppose any reasonable imagination of the two protagonists by the audience, even if they think they are lovers, it is feasible in Rechard's view.

What's more, the "ambiguity" of the characters does not even mean that the characters must have a certain established relationship. The "ambiguity" embodied in "The First Cow" is a potential sense of dependence, just like the two in the beginning of the movie. The artistic conception given to the audience by the close and inhabiting bones.

Western Narrative and Highway Narrative

In the seven directorial feature films that Reachd has so far, she has more or less engaged with two fixed-themed narratives, namely, western narrative and highway narrative. We can easily find the existence of these two narratives in any of Reichard's films.

Kelly Rechard's western narrative is a combination of geographical background, historical conception and aesthetics. The "West" of "First Cow" is Oregon where hope is with death, and the "West" of "Mick's Shortcut" is a dangerous wild place, "Wendy and Lucy" and "A Certain Woman" The "west" of China is a remote town that no one looks at, and the "west" in "Yesterday's Joy" is a means far away from modernity...

The West, as a symbol, erodes characters all the time. Therefore, most of the people in Reichard's movies have the characteristics of Westerners. They look tired, confused and boring.

2010 "Mick's Shortcut"

2008 "Wendy and Lucy"

When it comes to Rechard’s road narrative, I have to focus on the most important theme in Rechard’s films: Drifting (Drifting is more accurate). From the debut "Weeds Overgrown" to "The First Cow", almost all the protagonists of Reichard's films are in a state of being away from home. This "on the road" spirit, which is in line with the hippie movement of the last century to a certain extent, has become It is a form of externalization of the character's self-realization.

Kelly Reichard

The film "The First Cow" contributed to the most beautiful ending of this year's new film: Cookie and King Lu, who dragged their exhausted figures to escape for their lives, finally couldn't resist sleepiness. They closed their eyes one after another in the jungle.

The movie did not inform the audience of the subsequent plot, but as audiences, we all know that the two bones in the future are them who are falling asleep at this moment. It's just that we will still be moved by Reichard's handling, and we still have this expectation: I hope that when they open their eyes, the danger has quietly left.

Author | Donidak; Official Account | Seeing Death in Movies

Edit | Riding a Rooftop Boy; please indicate the source for reprinting

View more about First Cow reviews

Extended Reading
  • Eldon 2022-04-24 07:01:22

    Wild West, two men have no love, the film feels so gentle

  • Kaya 2022-04-21 09:03:09

    where can i find oily cake

First Cow quotes

  • Fort Trapper: She's a very fine cow.

  • King-Lu: I think we should test the waters. Next batch, Cookie, we'll take to market. I've heard a fortune is made on this.

    Cookie: That seems dangerous.

    King-Lu: So is anything worth doing.