“First Cow,” July 10, 2021 (2019), DVD. Kelly Reichardt (director and co-writer) and her writing partner Jonathon Raymand (co-writer and author of the novel The Half Life, from which this is derived) work together a lot, and I’ve loved their collaborations. They do wonderful, thoughtful and contemplative films like Wendy and Lucy (2008) and Meeks Cutoff (2010), both of which I really, really liked. Both of these are very underrated. As we watched this film, and before I learned they’d written and she’d directed, I said to Bronwen “this reminds me of Wendy and Lucy” in tone and directorial style. Honest. And it does in all the good ways those other films impressed me. They bring in wonderful actors for roles big and small and this features bits by Alia Shawkat, and Rene Auberjonois (his last film), and the wonderful Toby Jones in a more developed piece.
Oregon in the 1830s is new territory for the Brits and Yanks who are trapping it out and taking it away from the Native population. It draws trappers and men seeking their fortune or just finding themselves there. Such are King Liu, a Chinese migrant and polyglot on the make (Orion Lee) and Cookie (John Magaro), a gentle young man drifting to the west with trappers as a cook. They arrive at a fort and set up house, just as the first cow makes her entry to provide milk for Jones’ Chief Factor. Cookie’s skills as a baker require innovative acquisition of resources and Cookie and cow (Evie) soon establish a loving bond. This, however, poses problems in the short term and they resonate to the present as Shawkat and her dog make an unexpected discovery. The film is a lush presentation of the Oregon wilderness and old growth today, even as the coarseness of those around them speak to the cruelty of the age and conquest. It is an excellent film that speaks of both the men and times, of kindness and cruelty.