| Cow | |
| Director: | Andrea Arnold |
| Producer: | Kat Mansoor |
| Cinematography: | Magda Kowalczyk |
| Distributor: | MUBI |
| Runtime: | 94 minutes[1] |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Gross: | $70,730[2] [3] |
Cow is a 2021 British documentary film by Andrea Arnold, revolving around the life of a dairy cow.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 8 July 2021.
The film, shot in cinéma vérité-style, portrays the life of a female dairy cow,[4] called Luma, at Park Farm in Kent, England.
Andrea Arnold had wanted to make a documentary revolving around an animal for years, and considered making one about a chicken, but ultimately kept coming back to a cow because she found their lives "interesting to look at."[5] The film follows a milking cow and her calf, with Arnold warning the farmers about the potential response their farm would receive once the film was released.[6] [7] Arnold wanted the audience to "see" the cow, with real feelings, as well as "show the aliveness of a nonhuman animal."[8] [9] Production took place over the course of several years, with post-production taking place while Arnold was editing the second season of Big Little Lies.[10] [11] Arnold has further stated that the film was intended as a presentation of life, and is not political or vegan media. She has stated, "I'm not going to talk about that because I don’t want it to become about that."[6] Rather, Arnold said "our relationship with the millions of non-human lives we use is very much part of our existence. I made Cow to invite engagement with that."[12]
Cow had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on 8 July 2021.[13] Prior to, MUBI acquired distribution rights to the film in the UK, Ireland and Turkey.[14] That same month, IFC Films acquired US distribution rights.[15] It was also selected in 'Icon' section of 26th Busan International Film Festival and was screened on 11 October 2021.[16]
In the UK, the film earned $28,790 from 34 theaters in its opening weekend.[17]
Cow has received critical acclaim. A review in New Scientist described it as 'moving and uncomfortable'.[18] It holds a 96% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 99 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.6/10.[19] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 80 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[20]