26. Cow; movie review

 

COW

Cert 12A

94 mins

BBFC advice: Contains upsetting scenes, infrequent strong language

Like many other cinephiles, I surprised myself by being enthralled by Andrea Arnold's Cow - a fly-on-the wall documentary about Luma, a Holstein Friesian.

But by its end I could not shake two questions - why were the cows treated so badly and why did Park Farm, which was featured in the movie, agree to it.

It is vogue nowadays for documentaries to have no narrative. I presume this is to allow the viewing public to make up their own minds about the subject matter.

In this case, Arnold seems to be demonstrating how cows are treated as commodities who live in appalling conditions and are simply disposed of when they have outlived their usefulness.

But what was the farm's perspective? I was very keen to know.

The film begins with Luma giving birth to a calf and then assisting with cleaning her up, looking like a proud mother.

However, her happiness soon turns to heartbreak when the calf is taken away from her.

I wanted to understand the importance of timing here. I presume it was to prevent deeper bonds but Luma's shattering moans of sadness demonstrated that they were already in place.

During the first half of the movie, Luma's life looks utterly miserable. Confined to a shed with dozens of other cows, she is shuffled off to the milking machine where pop music plays as she is relieved of her load.

She then slides through sludge to return to her pen. This is a process which is repeated ad nauseam.

Meanwhile, we see her calf looking forlorn as she is nurtured away from her mother.

It has to be said that the second half of Arnold's film shows both in respective fields and having a rather better time but the most shocking element is yet to come.

By its end I still couldn't get my head around what I had seen and why the team on the farm colluded with Arnold (they are thanked in the credits).

Did she tell them it would make them appear so cruel and they would not be given the opportunity of explaining what we were seeing?

I needed the gaps filling before making a judgment.

Reasons to watch: Fly-on-the wall detail of life on a diary farm

Reasons to avoid: Lacks explanation

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Lots of graphic body parts - but not human

Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? As cows must give birth to a calf in order to produce milk, there is also over a million dairy calves born in the UK each year. The total number of dairy cattle in the UK is over 3.2 million.

The final word. Andrea Arnold: "I wanted to show a non-human consciousness. I was intrigued as to whether we would be able to see her consciousness if we followed her long enough." The Guardian

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