First Cow 2020

The film opens in present day as a young woman and her dog discover something shocking in the deep woods of Oregon. Suddenly we are back in the early 1800’s in the same woods as a young man ragged and worn searches the woods for mushrooms and other things to eat. He is cookie which is his nickname because he is a cook for a rough and rowdy band of men who are traveling thorough the land looking for better lives, money and women. Cookie is sensitive and aware, while the men he must cook for are vulgar and dumb and is beautifully acted by John Magaro. Late one night as he scrounges through the woods looking for more edible things he comes across a naked (don’t ask) young Chinese man King-Lu played by Orion Lee hiding from murderous Russians who are after him for a deadly self-defense act that he committed. 

Cookie takes him under his wing and hides him until it is safe and soon they have forged a short lived bond. The Chinese young man, smart and welcomed is soon gone, but later down the road they meet up again, and this time their bond tightens to the point where they start sharing their lives together. Is it just platonic or more, we never find out, but it is a tasty and tantalizing thought to ponder. Cookie it seems wants to open a bakery and a hotel in San Francisco and soon King-Lu is encouraging him in his dreams and pushes Cookie to bake his cakes and maybe they can go into the rough fort town to sell his wonderful baked goods.

The problem is there is no milk to bake with and the one cow around is owned by the fort’s commander “Chief Factor” played perfectly by Toby Jones.  No problem King Lu says they will go into the place where the cow is kept late at night and cookie will milk her while King-Lu sits up in a tree like an owl standing (sitting) guard. What they are doing is such a small crime but will of course have much larger ramifications down the road. Kelly Reichardt the director, co screenwriter and editor of this little gem of a film uses the 4.3 old Hollywood square ratio which boxes in the action and brings the scenes closer to use still giving her landscapes and images a majestic glow thanks in large part to her regular cinematographer the great Chris Biauvelt. 

Artists and lovers of art will appreciate these images that will bring to mind paintings of the 19^th century and film lovers might recognize her film quotes and references most notably for me Robert Altman’s “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” and Jim Jarmusch’s masterwork “Dead Man”. She also adds to the memories of these two directors by casting actors Rene Auberjonois and Gary Farmer who worked for the directors in small but memorable parts. Cookie’s baked goods are a big success and soon the two friends are packing in money and trinkets into their private bank account set in a tree trunk. Cookie using his loving care and talent to make these oily cakes (think 19^th century donuts) sprinkled with cinnamon and brushed with honey are such a big hit, that  Jones who swoons over them (they’re like London) hires Cookie to make a special blueberry cake called a a clafoutis for a tea that he is giving to show up a pompous military commander. The troubles begin here, we know it and so do the young men, who realize that they will have to get out of town fast. This film is an unexpected joy with sadness sprinkled on it like Cookie’s cinnamon sprinkled on his oily cakes. There are maybe too many scenes that take place at night so dark that I could barely make out the action, but that’s a very small criticism of this wonderful film. One of the ten best films of that awful year 2020 and quite possibly the best film of that year.