Review of Cows

The 4 episodes that make up Medem,s interesting debut film are linked by several devices that create a sense of continuity through different times in 19th and 20th century Spanish history.One device is the red Beret,an emblem of the soldiers in the Second Carlist War in 1875 who supported the traditions of in this case the northern Basque part of the country near France against the Liberals; we see that beret again in the last part,now worn by the Nationalist supporters of Franco.Another device is the iris,both as a Cinematic optical transition and as a part of a still camera that characters are frequently looking into as they take pictures.(a main character,the boy Peru,will grow up to become a newspaper photographer in America.) Also the use of the same actor in different episodes,such as the aging grandfather or several roles played by the same performer,add to this sense that things have not really changed that much over 60 years in this little part of the country.Which is not your typical image of Spain.Biscay (Vizcaya) is a lush green valley with mysterious forests nearby,full of thick wood waiting to be cut up (a source of rivalry between two families) and the sudden appearance of the animals that give the movie its title.All of these strategies kept my interest in this story of lingering connections.