I love Phaidei

last night i took a venture into iranian new wave and watched mehrjui's 1969 film the cow. there is never an occasion where i find nonamerican cinema less valuable than american cinema, whether in its subject matter, style or just its overall charm. this film was no exception to me. the way in which the characters were built felt very effective -- namely masht hassan, of whom we see two sides. the beginning of the film exemplifies how he acts in everyday life: his interactions with his friends; his love for his cow (which we see in an extended scene of him washing her, and another of him searching her stable for anything which could harm her in the night). it is clear that alongside the cow being a very valuable material possession for him, being the only milk cow in the village, he has a true love for her as a companion to him. the way in which he is presented in the former half of the film contrasts dramatically with his actions in the latter half, brought together perfectly by entezami's borderline disturbing performance as he begins to identify with his dead cow, in a way which i assume is brought forth by the immense guilt he feels for not protecting her, as he cries out to hassan for help as though the cow is speaking through him.

masht islam's character too is explored through its binary contrast; his collectedness, care and humanity at the beginning as he tries his hardest to prevent hassan from discovering his cow's death opposing his violence with frustration when hassan refuses to move as they try and take him to the hospital (resulting in him physically abusing him as though he were an animal) -- though throughout the film his sense of authority and control is kept constant.

despite the hatred for american cinema i expressed at the beginning of this post, i always find it fascinating how much new wave filmmakers from any country admires american cinema and uses it as a form of inspiration. mehrjui was majorly inspired by italian neorealism (of which i have seen only a few examples; 71/2 and visconti's work namely). the experimental aspects of this film come through strongly in the cinematography, especially with the shot of hassan standing beneath the light of a window, shouting up at it, as the camera cuts rapidly. the framing of shots from within the cow's stable looking out was something i was very fond of, with the window acting as a second letterbox for the framing of the shot.