First Cow (2020)
Director: Kelly Reichardt Run Time: 122 min. Rating: PG-13 Release Year: 2020
Starring: Ewen Bremner, John Magaro, Orion Lee, Scott Shepherd, Toby Jones
Country: United States
Language: North American Indian, English, Russian
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About the film:
In the 1820s, a taciturn loner and skilled cook travels west to Oregon Territory, where he meets a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. Soon the two team up on a dangerous scheme to steal milk from the wealthy landowner’s prized Jersey cow – the first, and only, in the territory.
“First Cow is archetypal Kelly Reichardt, slow, small and perfectly formed, elevated by stellar but understated performances from John Magaro and Orion Lee.”
—Ian Freer for Empire Magazine
About the filmmaker:
Kelly Reichardt is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for her minimalist-style films closely associated with slow cinema, many of which deal with working class characters in small, rural communities.
She made her feature film debut with River of Grass (1994), and subsequently directed a series of films set and filmed in Oregon: the dramas Old Joy (2006), which premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and Wendy and Lucy (2008); the Western Meek’s Cutoff (2010); and the thriller Night Moves (2013). In 2016, Reichardt wrote and directed the Montana-set drama Certain Women, and in 2019 directed First Cow, again set in Oregon. First Cow had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival. It won Best Film at the 2020 New York Film Critics Circle Awards, and was named one of the ten best films of 2020 by the National Board of Review.
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