7/23/20 - First Cow (2020) - 6/10

Ok. I have to say it. I’m not into Kelly Reichardt films. I am 0/4. And it’s not that I hate them and I wouldn’t classify myself as being ignorant to what they are doing (perhaps I am and the poetic depth within gentle slights and languid natural is eluding me), but I just don’t appreciate them. It’s also not that I think they are bad films; I see the craft and the emotion and the marks of grandeur, hell, most of them I actually like - I just don’t love them. First Cow is of this variety..

I did find the empathetic connection to these two companions, their cultivated partnership, and their shared journey in the magnificent untamed everywhere. Subtle and whimsically vital, their kinship echoed through the peaceful trees and mumbling streams. And nowhere was the heart in this film more beating than in the moonlight as it shone down, Cookie sweetly uttering his thoughts as he squeezed on the supple underside for the nigh-all-important white gold.

It’s a story of being out of place but finding meaning in making it your new home. Of the camaraderie of a developing nation, expanding out and protruding into the land & its native peoples. It hits her themes of natural splendor, settlers/travelers in the new America-to-be, core friendships, and ecological necessity.

So spacious, between people, the places, the words, and my feeling connected to the film; too much space and emptiness can be damning. There is a hollowness that is intrinsic in her films, at least for me. It keeps me at a distance, emotionally and intellectually. I liked the film, but I did not find it amazing or wondrous. In fact, for me, the cow was the best part for me, which is a sign of “good” being its highest level achieved, no further.