A soft, subdued look at the pain we choose to accept so we can go on living.
One of Takatsuki's lines struck me most: "If you really want to look at someone, then your only option is to look at yourself squarely and deeply."
We want so badly to be heard and seen, yet often fail to confront and understand our own hearts. Maybe we all just need a little Chekhov to unlock them.
(Thank you to Claire who lent me her copy of Uncle Vanya after we watched this!)
An endearing look into how the things we're passionate about bring us together (again and again). The collective joy of movies, childhood, and unabashedly sharing our every emotion in a packed community theater. Sentimental, but never sappy or insincere.
Humanity, ambition and brutality on the frontier. Using a cow to explore the hoarding of resources and exploitation of animals that contribute to the basis of capitalism, Reichardt recounts this tale of the cyclical, dangerous lure of the American dream and manifest destiny ideology with patience and grace.
There is a pleasing, tangible quality to “First Cow.” Characters are always making use of their hands — crafting, cooking, gathering berries, helping overturned salamanders. Appreciation for nature informs every scene, and Cookie’s respect for his surroundings is heartwarming. Though it borders on a cautionary tale, I found it quietly compelling.
