The Cow
About The Cow
Masht Hassan, a villager with no children, treats his cow as his only wealth. It is the only cow in the village, and it is pregnant. While he is away it is found dead in the barn. The neighbors hide the death and tell him the cow ran away. He will not take that story, and he begins to live as if he were the cow.
Cast & crew
More about The Cow
Dariush Mehrjui directed, produced, and edited it. He and Gholam-Hossein Sa'edi wrote it from Sa'edi's story. Fereydon Ghovanlou photographed it. Hormoz Farhat wrote the music. Wikidata lists 104 and 105 minutes. Ezzatollah Entezami plays Hassan. Ali Nasirian and Jamshid Mashayekhi are billed. It was smuggled out and won the FIPRESCI prize at the 1971 Venice Film Festival.
Themes
Making
Mehrjui shot Sa'edi's village story with Entezami as the man who will not accept the cow's death.
Reviews
Some critics call it the first film of the Iranian New Wave.
Look
Fereydon Ghovanlou shot the village and the barn where the cow is found.
Music
Hormoz Farhat wrote the music.
Preservation
A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- The Persian title is Gav.
- Sepas gave it best screenplay in 1970. The 1972 Berlin forum gave it an OCIC recommendation. La Rochelle named it best film in 1994.
- A report says Ayatollah Khomeini admired it, and that this was cited when Iranian cinema was allowed to continue after the revolution.
- Mahin Shahabi is on the catalog cast. Esmat Safavi is on the Wikidata cast.
Awards
- FIPRESCI Prize, Venice Film Festival (1971)
- Best Screenplay, Sepas Film Festival (1970)
Scenes
- The neighbors find the cow dead and agree to lie.
- Hassan comes home and will not believe the cow ran off.
Influenced by
- Gholam-Hossein Sa'edi's story