Vancouver 09: COW Review
[Our thanks to Andrew David Long for the following word from the Vancouver International Film Festival.]
Why buy the cow? It's not without its charms. Guan Hu has a reputation as a very versatile director who can swing between episodic television and art house cinema. Set in a rural Shangdong village during the Japanese invasion of the 1930's, COW blends elements of WWII films, odd-couple buddy comedies (in this case the unlikely team of man and cow vs. Japanese soldiers, hungry refugees, and bandits from the local mountains) and screwball comedy, all orchestrated to a politically acceptable, Communist-friendly undertone. The cow in question is a super milk cow donated by the Dutch to the Chinese army, but entrusted to the unwilling care of illiterate farmer Niu Er (Chinese box office star Huang Bo.) The cinematography is gorgeous, making great use of the walls and levels of the nameless village half-ruined by the Japanese army, and the stark and sweeping mountain-scapes nearby. This is a mainstream release within China, and it clearly has a budget for cranes and mountain shoots that would do Peter Jackson proud. The editing is sharp and highly effective within scenes, but the story is allowed to wander, to leave loose ends - sometimes a result of flashback footage in awkward places, and of failing to unify the genres at play. As a buddy comedy, we could do with much more of the cow's perspective. Apart from a few early shots from the titular character's perspective, the farmer who must wrangle said cow is the star of the piece. Stubborn, rubber-faced, and physically adept, there is a clownish charm to the Niu Er, but it's not enough to pull COW out of the muddy story.
When focusing its efforts as a war movie, COW is solid. In the stone-walled village and stark mountainous terrain, we half expect Lee Marvin and a handful of misfit soldiers to take up sniper positions and plant explosives to the tune of a jaunty march. The philosophical and military struggle between Japan and China sets a great framework for mayhem, and some of the Japanese soldiers receive some character development. The same can't be really be said for the next two waves of attack, and apart from a few great splattery moments during an attempt by hungry villagers to cross a minefield to assail farmer and cow who are holed up in a stone tower, these sequences don't match the early chapters. Though only 105 minutes, the lazy story makes COW feel much longer. If you love human/animal buddy pictures like TURNER AND HOOCH, and wanted an entry point into popular foreign historical films, COW is for you. If you want a blend of styles that turns crazy war-time adventures into even crazier shit, well, you've probably already seen INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS.
Why buy the cow? It's not without its charms. Guan Hu has a reputation as a very versatile director who can swing between episodic television and art house cinema. Set in a rural Shangdong village during the Japanese invasion of the 1930's, COW blends elements of WWII films, odd-couple buddy comedies (in this case the unlikely team of man and cow vs. Japanese soldiers, hungry refugees, and bandits from the local mountains) and screwball comedy, all orchestrated to a politically acceptable, Communist-friendly undertone. The cow in question is a super milk cow donated by the Dutch to the Chinese army, but entrusted to the unwilling care of illiterate farmer Niu Er (Chinese box office star Huang Bo.) The cinematography is gorgeous, making great use of the walls and levels of the nameless village half-ruined by the Japanese army, and the stark and sweeping mountain-scapes nearby. This is a mainstream release within China, and it clearly has a budget for cranes and mountain shoots that would do Peter Jackson proud. The editing is sharp and highly effective within scenes, but the story is allowed to wander, to leave loose ends - sometimes a result of flashback footage in awkward places, and of failing to unify the genres at play. As a buddy comedy, we could do with much more of the cow's perspective. Apart from a few early shots from the titular character's perspective, the farmer who must wrangle said cow is the star of the piece. Stubborn, rubber-faced, and physically adept, there is a clownish charm to the Niu Er, but it's not enough to pull COW out of the muddy story.
When focusing its efforts as a war movie, COW is solid. In the stone-walled village and stark mountainous terrain, we half expect Lee Marvin and a handful of misfit soldiers to take up sniper positions and plant explosives to the tune of a jaunty march. The philosophical and military struggle between Japan and China sets a great framework for mayhem, and some of the Japanese soldiers receive some character development. The same can't be really be said for the next two waves of attack, and apart from a few great splattery moments during an attempt by hungry villagers to cross a minefield to assail farmer and cow who are holed up in a stone tower, these sequences don't match the early chapters. Though only 105 minutes, the lazy story makes COW feel much longer. If you love human/animal buddy pictures like TURNER AND HOOCH, and wanted an entry point into popular foreign historical films, COW is for you. If you want a blend of styles that turns crazy war-time adventures into even crazier shit, well, you've probably already seen INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS.
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