The Cow
by Dariush Mehrjui
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ali Nassirian, Ezatallah Ramezanifar, Ezzatolah Entezami, Jamshid Mashayekhi, Parviz FanizadehDirector: Dariush Mehrjui
Audio: English (Subtitled); Persian (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-08-24
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: FIRST RUN FEATURES
Movie Reviews of The Cow
Movie Review: A Memorable Film
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Cow" (Gaav) is arguably the masterpiece of Dariush Mehrjui and one of the best films in the history of Iranian cinema--a stylistic cinema which has already achieved so much internationally. Made in 1969, the plot of the film comes actually from a segment of the remarkable novel, "The Mourners of Bayal," written by Iranian playwright and psychotherapist Gholam Hossein Saedi (1935-1985). Saedi co-wrote the screenplay with Mehrjui, and the result is this outstanding film.
The film depicts the human situation living in utmost poverty and dispossession. Masht Hassan loses his only possession and his only source of living, his cow. Then in the unfolding process of mourning his cow, he gradually identifies with the dead animal... indeed, he becomes the cow. His insanity invokes a chain reaction on the part of his fellow villagers who at first try to help Hassan out of compassion but gradually and unconsciously begin treating him like a cow out of fear of such metamorphosis and reincarnation. The result is this starkly depicted human tragedy. It is a must see for anyone seriously thinking about social issues as well as about cinema.
The film also depicts the underlying animistic beliefs of rural Iran--a prevalent belief that has been hidden and working under the surface of Islamic beliefs. The identification of man and animal, and that there is an animal soul for humans, comes from polytheistic Indian cultures, which after the Mongol conquest and throughout centuries has permeated Persian cultures and belief systems.
This film also features the fabulous congregations of Iran's most outstanding actors of the time, Ali Nassirian, Ezzatollah Entezami, and Jamshid Mashayekhi. Their acting is super, the ambiance surreal, the situation heart-wrenching.
This will be a memorable film for anyone who hasn't yet seen it.
Summary of The Cow
Influenced by Italian Neorealism, THE COW has the beauty and simplicity associated with the great films of that movement. In a small village in Iran, Hassan cherishes his cow more than anything in the world, for both emotional and economical reasons. While he is away, the cow mysteriously dies, and the villagers protectively try to convince Hassan the cow has wandered off. Grief stricken, Hassan begins to believe he is his own beloved bovine. The story is Mehrjui's treatise on emotional attachment told in his characteristic simple and touching manner.THE COW won great acclaim at the Venice Film Festival after being smuggled out of Iran in 1971, and was twice voted the best Iranian film ever made by a survey of Iranian film critics.
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