In Cow, the first documentary from Fish Tank and American Honey director Andrea Arnold, we follow dairy cow Luna through her life on a farm in the south of England. At one point early on, Luna looks directly into the camera and lets out several moos, as if she’s trying to give her own version of her story. Arnold attempts to tell the story of Luna and her repetitive life, full of milking and birthing other cows, and without judgment, but simply with an unbiased lens.
COLLIDER VIDEO OF THE DAY Cow is decidedly slow-moving, a quiet, contemplative look at Luna and her process through the farming industry. We see how protective Luna is when she gives birth to a calf—a situation she’s clearly been through many times before—and the frustrations at the various indignities that an animal has to go through, whether through dehorning or shaving down hooves.