The Cow - 1969
Directed by Dariush Mehrjui
The inhabitants of an Iranian village attempt to hide the death of the town's only cow from its owner. They know that the news will crush him so they have no choice but to lie. The reaction of the cow's owner, Mashd Hassan (Ezatollah Entezami) quickly declines from staunch denial to an unrelenting delirium in which he actually believes that he is his own cow.
B&W, 1 hour 40 minutes, Farsi
Original Title: Gaav
Trailer currently not available, Watch Scene (Farsi w/English subtitles)
Star Rating
Firouzan Rank # 1
Cast
| Ezatollah Entezami | Mashd Hassan |
| Ali Nasirian | Eslam |
| Jafar Vali | |
| Jamshid Mashayekhi | Abbas |
| Esmat Safavi | |
| Mahin Shahabi | |
| Parviz Fanizadeh | |
| Khosro Shojazadeh | |
| M. Dolatabadi | |
| Shokhoh Najamabadi | |
| Ezatollah Ramazanfar | |
| Firouz Bahjat Mohammadi | |
| Gholamali Banipour | |
| Yadollah Shirandami | |
| Montaj Najoomi | |
| Dariush Rezaii |
Crew
| Writer | Dariush Mehrjui Gholam Hossein Saedi |
| Director | Dariush Mehrjui |
| Producer | Dariush Mehrjui |
| Director of Photography | Fireidoon Ghovanlou |
| Sound Recordist | Bahram Daraie |
| Editor | Dariush Mehrjui Zani Khalaj |
| Sound Mixer | Yadollah Asghari |
| Music | Mormoz Farhat |
Pictures
The Shah of Iran was displeased that a movie depicting Iran's rural villages represented the country to international audiences.
Mashd Hassan (Ezatollah Entezami) and the cow he dotes upon.
From Joy to Paranoia - Realizing he is not alone.
The bane of Hassan's village - the thieving Boulories.
While Hassan is away, his cow is mysteriously found dead.
The villagers try to reason with Hassan, whose responses confound and trouble them.
"The moon comes out every time my cow is thirsty."
Observing Hassan's behavior.
Transformation complete.
Having no other option, the villagers bind Hassan and take him to the city for treatment.
Eslam (Ali Nasirian) whips Hassan as he would a stubborn animal.
DVD
External Reviews
By Thomas Quinn Curtiss The New York Times
The Venice Film Festival prides itself on revealing new talents. In 1951 it honored "Rashomon" with its Golden Lion first prize (now temporarily abolished) and thus introduced the Japanese cinema to the West. Since then it has sought to repeat this Marco Polo-esque feat, welcoming motion pictures from unlikely lands, often more out of hope than sound judgment. Continued
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