The Cow

There is one cow in the village and it belongs to Hassan. He treats the animal like his own child; he sleeps in the byre, washes her, lets nobody near. There are no other animals; so the cow is not merely property but the village's only means of production. Hassan goes to town for a few days on business. While he is away the cow dies. The villagers do not know what to do; they think he could not bear the truth. They bury the animal and tell him she ran off. Hassan goes into the byre and does not come out. Dariush Mehrjui directs. Ezzatollah Entezami plays Hassan; Ali Nasirian, Jamshid Mashayekhi and Mahin Shahabi are in the cast. It is an Iranian production, made in 1969. The source is Gholam-Hossein Saedi's story; the author worked on the screenplay as well. The film was kept from release in Iran for a time; it was then shown at festivals abroad and drew attention. It is counted the beginning of the new wave in Iran and directly influenced the generation that followed. The matter it treats is loss undoing an identity; Hassan starts to take his animal's place. The narrative does not romanticise the village; poverty and solidarity stand in the same scene. It was shot in black and white in real villages. The narrative carries a threat as well; there is a group waiting outside the village and who they are is never explained. Its limit is the watching; the narrative is slow, the subject heavy, and the ending bitter. Who it is for: viewers who like Iranian cinema and village narratives. Who it is not for: it is slow, bleak, and the ending shattering.