First Cow
This is an art house movie which generates a small box
office but gets numerous nominations and accolades (Rotten Tomatoes gave it a score
of 95). It has the feel of a documentary and the pace is very slow. The cinematography
is unimpressive and the visual scenes monotonous.
The film takes place in the 1820’s in the northwest
territory, it is referred to as historical fiction. The essence of the film is
the friendship between two strangers. One is a Chinese man who is running away
from a murder he committed and the other character is a cook named Cookie.
One day Cookie see a girl walking with a small buck of milk. Cookie tells his
partner he can make small cakes with the milk which they can sell. They call them
oily cakes and they are instantly popular making them money (the cakes are like
the zeppoles at the San Janeiro festa on Mott street) . Food in the wildness is
bland and repetitive so the cakes are a popular treat. The milk comes from the
first cow in the territory and at night they steal milk to make their cakes. For the rest of the
story is they are pursed by men of cow’s owner. Apparently stealing milk is a
high crime in the wildness.
The acting is passive. Aside from the milk cow theft there
is no real action. Except for two Indian women there are no female actors. The
two recognizable actors are Toby Jones (Truman Capote) and Scott Shepherd (Die
Hard) who have supporting role. I am unfamiliar with the protagonists , which
means nothing or diminishes their performance. I watched this movie twice since
the first time I feel asleep and missed some key scenes.
Why am I writing this review? In case you want to see
film (VOD on Amazon) I want to give you a heads up. The film gives
you the milk but no cookies.
