Cinema
The Cow
گاو
Dariush Mehrjui · 1969
Synopsis
In a poor village, Masht Hassan has only one possession, the only cow in the place, which he loves more than his wife and which gives him his standing among his own people. One day, he sees in the distance, on the heights, three men from the neighbouring village looking at the animal. During its master's absence, the cow dies mysteriously; to spare his grief, the villagers tell him that she has run away. He then sinks into madness and begins to think he is the cow.
Context
The film was written by the director and Gholam-Hossein Saedi from a story the latter had published in 1964, and shot with theatre actors: Ezzatollah Entezami in the leading role, Ali Nassirian, Jamshid Mashayekhi, and the writer Mahmoud Dowlatabadi. Financed by the state, which had the village houses whitewashed before the shoot, it was banned as soon as it was finished for the image it gave of the countryside. A copy smuggled out was shown in 1971 at the Venice Biennale, without subtitles; its success led to the ban being lifted, on condition of a title card placing the story before the reign of the Shah.
Who it is for
A film in Persian, in black and white, of about a hundred minutes. It helps to know that the story moves slowly and that everything is conveyed through the actors' faces.
Prizes and reception
International Critics' Prize at Venice in 1971, acting prize at Chicago for Entezami, and regarded as the first film of the Iranian New Wave.