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First Cow, 2019
Cookie (John Magaro) is a quiet man who works as a cook for rough-and-tumble fur trappers, but dreams of opening his own bakery in San Francisco. Cookie meets up with King-Lu (Orion Lee), a Chinese immigrant on the run after killing a man. Together they end up working together in a fort, illicitly stealing milk from a cow belonging to a powerful local trader (Toby Jones) in order to make baked goods to sell to the locals.
What an amazing, sweet, and potent little film.
I've had mixed luck with Reichardt's filmography. I thought that Wendy and Lucy was really strong, powered by Michelle Williams in the lead role. I also really enjoyed Meek's Cutoff. I overall liked Night Moves. I really struggled with Old Joy, trying two times to watch it but never actually clicking with it.
This one, though, may be my favorite of her films. It's a movie that mixes romance and serenity with a dose of melancholy, gently centering affection and friendship in a harsh and unforgiving setting.
Most movies that take place on the frontier tend to center the cruel and difficulty of living in such a hostile environment. The film doesn't pretend that the fort and its surroundings aren't a dangerous place to be. In both the beginning and end of the film, we see that this is a rough place to be. But the heart of the film is the friendship that Cookie and King-Lu find with one another, and the way that their friendship gives them hope for the future.
This is, I think, a really brilliant romance. Whether you watch this movie and decide that Cookie and King-Lu are "just friends", or whether you think there's a deeper attraction there, it doesn't impact the result, which is that these two men basically complete each other. When I say romance (for the record, I get a more than friends vibe), I mean that this is a story that shows how one person can bring out the best in the other. They listen to each other's hopes and dreams, both those that are actionable and those that are just pipe dreams. For the thrilling center of the film, their dreams begin to get traction.
Magaro and Lee have an easy chemistry with each other, the kind of dynamic where their enjoyment of each other's company is apparent when speaking or sitting in companionable silence. Toby Jones is also good as the wealthy landowner whose cow is being "poached" by Cookie and King-Lu. He seems affable enough, but you dread what will happen when he discovers the deception. And, of course, a huge shout-out to Evie the cow. She is adorable, and the little conversations that Cookie has with her during the midnight milkings are some of the sweetest scenes in the film.
The very opening scene lets us know a lot about how the film will end, but the journey there is very compelling. There are moments of difficulty and loss, but I stand by the word that keeps coming into my head about it. This is a really gentle film. It puts friendship and love at the center, showing how those things can enliven and enrich life in even the most trying of circumstances. That last moment in the film really sings.
First Cow, 2019
Cookie (John Magaro) is a quiet man who works as a cook for rough-and-tumble fur trappers, but dreams of opening his own bakery in San Francisco. Cookie meets up with King-Lu (Orion Lee), a Chinese immigrant on the run after killing a man. Together they end up working together in a fort, illicitly stealing milk from a cow belonging to a powerful local trader (Toby Jones) in order to make baked goods to sell to the locals.
What an amazing, sweet, and potent little film.
I've had mixed luck with Reichardt's filmography. I thought that Wendy and Lucy was really strong, powered by Michelle Williams in the lead role. I also really enjoyed Meek's Cutoff. I overall liked Night Moves. I really struggled with Old Joy, trying two times to watch it but never actually clicking with it.
This one, though, may be my favorite of her films. It's a movie that mixes romance and serenity with a dose of melancholy, gently centering affection and friendship in a harsh and unforgiving setting.
Most movies that take place on the frontier tend to center the cruel and difficulty of living in such a hostile environment. The film doesn't pretend that the fort and its surroundings aren't a dangerous place to be. In both the beginning and end of the film, we see that this is a rough place to be. But the heart of the film is the friendship that Cookie and King-Lu find with one another, and the way that their friendship gives them hope for the future.
This is, I think, a really brilliant romance. Whether you watch this movie and decide that Cookie and King-Lu are "just friends", or whether you think there's a deeper attraction there, it doesn't impact the result, which is that these two men basically complete each other. When I say romance (for the record, I get a more than friends vibe), I mean that this is a story that shows how one person can bring out the best in the other. They listen to each other's hopes and dreams, both those that are actionable and those that are just pipe dreams. For the thrilling center of the film, their dreams begin to get traction.
Magaro and Lee have an easy chemistry with each other, the kind of dynamic where their enjoyment of each other's company is apparent when speaking or sitting in companionable silence. Toby Jones is also good as the wealthy landowner whose cow is being "poached" by Cookie and King-Lu. He seems affable enough, but you dread what will happen when he discovers the deception. And, of course, a huge shout-out to Evie the cow. She is adorable, and the little conversations that Cookie has with her during the midnight milkings are some of the sweetest scenes in the film.
The very opening scene lets us know a lot about how the film will end, but the journey there is very compelling. There are moments of difficulty and loss, but I stand by the word that keeps coming into my head about it. This is a really gentle film. It puts friendship and love at the center, showing how those things can enliven and enrich life in even the most trying of circumstances. That last moment in the film really sings.