Review of First Cow (2020) by Moviemitch96 — 22 Jul 2020
In this film, a late 1800s Oregon fur trapper meets and befriends a Chinese immigrant, and together, they decide to try and get ahead by secretly stealing the milk from a local cow owned by a wealthy landowner in order to make cakes and pastries out of it to sell to people.
It's a small and intimant film with a simple premise, but it's still very effective thanks largely in part by the two lead performances and chemistry of John Magaro and Orion Lee as fur trapper Cookie and humble immigrant King-Lu respectively.
Their onscreen friendship is undeniably charming to watch, and I found myself rooting for them in their strive for a better and more prosperous life from start to finish. From a technical aspect, the film is beautifully shot, even settling for a smaller aspect ratio in order to better fit with the times it's portraying, and each shot in the film almost appears as an old photograph come to life.
It moves a little slow and takes its time, but in doing so, it manages to illustrate the quest for prosperity and simple pleasures in a unique way and is shown in a time period not seen too often in film.
Overall, it's a slow and simple yet ultimately humble period film that tells a nice friendship story while it's at it, making it worthwhile enough.
This review of First Cow (2020) was written by Moviemitch96 on 22 Jul 2020.
First Cow has generally received very positive reviews.
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