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 Barnes & Noble Starting with a marvelously oblique title, Basque director Julio Medem (Lovers of the Arctic Circle) weaves an odd family saga in his 1992 feature film debut, Vacas (Cows). The film is not specifically about things bovine, but rather an elliptical tale of two rural Basque clans whose fates intertwine over six decades, from the Carlist Wars of the 1870s to the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. Central to the story are the Iriguibels, whose patriarchs cowardice in the films prologue sets the stage for generations of interfamilial animosity and covert assignations. (Father, son, and grandson Iriguibel are all played with skill by Carmelo Gómez.) Medem dips a toe into magic realism without really taking the plunge, but its enough to give the film a dreamlike quality that is accentuated by some inventive camerawork and cinematography by Carles Gusi. And then there are the cows -- mute witnesses whose placidity in the face of the surrounding passion and strife emerges as the films underlying theme. At times, Medem even provides a cows-eye view of events. Although he frames the story with two wars, Medem eschews political subjectivity in favor of a subtle mysticism that resists any easy interpretation. The result is a striking directorial debut, hypnotically charming and with a thematic stillness that runs surprisingly deep. Gregory Baird Interested in the song lyrics? - Check out themostlyrics.com! Looking For A DVD? - Check out dvd-a-rama.com! |
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