COW -- A Fascinating Documentary About an Underappreciated Part of Our Lives

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Luma in Andrea Arnold’s COW. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.

Documentaries are films that inform and educate the masses. Andrea Arnold's Cow deals with a fascinating subject, and one many people don't know about. The lives of farmers aren't easy, but the lives of the animals and the things they work with make their lives and jobs a lot harder. This film deals with an animal we all take for granted because of how much we rely on them for our food and other things. The cow is a necessity in the lives of millions around the world.

Cow is a documentary about a mother cow and her daughter, from the calf's birth to its rearing and everything in between. Cows have a relatively mundane life except when they have to give their daily milk. Sometimes they have to go through routine checkups for disease and so forth. They also need grooming and other things done to keep them up to snuff for the farmers who own them.
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Like any mother, cow 1142 has motherly instincts — she gets sad when her baby is separated from her. She makes calls trying to say she wants her baby back. Unfortunately for her, they are separated for good. Her daughter is now starting a life of her own. She's making new friends, and she will be a mother before you know it. It's only a matter of time. This film shows the fascinating lives of these two cows and many more just like them.

Luma in Andrea Arnold’s COW. Courtesy of Cow Films Ltd. An IFC Films release.

Documentaries deal with all kinds of subjects. This is the first one I ever saw that focuses on the lives of cows. Sure other films have dealt with this subject matter. Many think that the life of a cow is quite dull, but this film shows that might not be the case. Cows are essential to our ecosystem. They provide milk that is very important in our everyday lives. That milk also gets turned into other foods we eat, such as cheese and so forth.

I am not a farmer, nor have I ever dreamed of being a farmer. That being said, I have always wondered what the life of a farmer would be like. Cow shows a little of that lifestyle to some extent. They have to get up every day and tend to these animals that can't tend to themselves. This cycle goes on and on every day for months and months, continuing on into oblivion.

Cow is now in theaters and on VOD.

Rating: 3/5