First Cow

"A simple story of friendship and betrayal. Beautiful cinematography letting elements of the story tell their visual story with minimal audio interruption. A gem of intention."

"Melancholy western tale of unlikely friendship and the struggles of frontier life. Like the oily cakes, this one sticks to your bones. #drama #history #friendship "

"#friendship"

"Meditative, funny, and heart-felt. Not very many westerns like it. I also like how the 4:3 aspect ratio is used to focus on the intimate story of the main friendship while also inviting new ways to frame certain shots inside the limited frame."

"This movie was so good. Still thinking about it 3 days later. "

"One of 2020’s best."

"First Cow, Kelly Reichardt's evocative and wise tale of frontier life, begins with the discovery of two skeletons in the woods. An unnamed young woman (Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat) and her dog -- echoing the human-and-canine pair at the center of Reichardt's 2008 road story Wendy and Lucy -- come upon the bones in the modern day Pacific Northwest. Then we flash back to a time when the Oregon territory was far less developed, an era of perilous opportunity and rampant exploitation, and meet Cookie (John Magaro), a bashful and unassuming cook for a team of unruly fur trappers. Eventually, he befriends the wandering King-Lu (Orion Lee), a Chinese immigrant who claims to be fleeing some Russians. The two stumble on an opportunity to make some money: a wealthy landowner (Toby Jones) brings the first cow to the region. Cookie and King-Lu decide to steal the cow's milk at night and use it to bake sweet honey biscuits, which they sell at the local market. The story has an allegorical quality, gently pulling at classic American notions of hope, ambition, and deception. Reichardt, who chronicled a similar historical period in 2010's neo-Western Meek's Cutoff and an equally rich male friendship in 2006's buddy comedy Old Joy, has a gentle human touch that never veers into sentimentality. On a literal and metaphoric level, she knows where the bodies are buried."

"Something different! Moving in its own way. Worth the watch."

"Well done movie"

"Lovely story about friendship. "