First Cow (2019)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

First Cow (2019) – K. Reichardt

Kelly Reichardt’s latest film is a mesmerising masterpiece.  Set in early 19^th century Oregon, she’s managed an authentic feel for the time and place (not unlike Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man, 1995 – and whoa! Gary Farmer has a cameo here, speaking only in an Indigenous tongue) which really transported me. An opening quote suggests that the film will be about friendship and indeed we soon witness the first meeting of Cookie Figowitz (John Magaro) from Maryland and King-Lu (Orion Lee) from northern China; Cookie’s just arrived with a party of trappers (who seem to hate his guts) and King-Lu is naked, on the run from his enemies.  Together, they decide to strike up a business selling “oily cakes” using Cookie’s baking skill and King-Lu’s business acumen – however, their cakes rely on milk which needs to be illegally procured from the one cow in the territory, brought up by raft by Chief Factor (Toby Jones), a wealthy British local with pretentious airs. And thus, Reichardt’s film also turns out to be about capitalism and the difficulty that those without capital might have in getting a leg up. It isn’t a surprise that they try to leech off the wealthy and powerful nor that the wealthy and powerful might eventually decide to squash them (foreshadowed by the film’s very first sequence). The film is filled with delicious little moments (by an extended cast) and the gentle soundtrack is by William Tyler (with Stephen Malkmus showing up briefly as a busking fiddler). Highly recommended!