| Cow | |
|---|---|
| Traditional | 鬥牛 |
| Simplified | 斗牛 |
| Mandarin | dòu niú |
| Directed by | Guan Hu |
| Written by | Guan Hu Story: Zhao Dongling |
| Starring | Huang Bo Yan Ni |
| Music by | Li Ke |
| Cinematography | Song Xiaofei |
| Editing by | Kong Jinlei |
| Distributed by | United Star Corp. |
| Release date(s) | 10 September 2009 (Venice) 11 September 2009 (China) |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
Cow (simplified Chinese: 斗牛; traditional Chinese: 鬥牛; pinyin: dòu niú; literally "Fighting for cow") is a 2009 Chinese film directed by Guan Hu. A black comedy, Cow takes place during the midst of the Second Sino-Japanese War. A villager, played by Huang Bo, has been entrusted to care for a Dutch cow when a Japanese attack leaves him and the cow the only survivors.
The film premiered at the 66th Venice International Film Festival as part of its Horizons program.[1]
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The film takes its story from oral traditions of Shandong.[1] A bumbling villager, Niu'er (Huang Bo), is charged with caring for a Dutch cow, considered an object of awe to the village given its larger size and ability to produce large amounts of milk. When the village is bombed by the Japanese, Niu'er flees from his home, only to return to devastation and a mass grave. The cow, however, has survived, and the two make their way across the landscape, avoiding Japanese troops and hungry survivors before eventually meeting with the Communist 8th Route Army.
The film was well received by English-language critics during its screening in Venice. Derek Elley of Variety for example, felt the firm was strong enough to deserve a competitive spot in the festival and extolled both the film's aesthetic and its lead performer in Huang.[2] The Shanghai-based City Weekend also praised the film, noting that as a return to film after five years in television, Guan Hu's Cow "couldn’t have turned out better."[3] Notably, several critics favorably compared the film to Jiang Wen's similarly themed black comedy, Devils on the Doorstep.[2][4]
The reception in Asia was similarly positive. Given its small budget, the film's release in China was a strong 7.7 million RMB box office for the opening weekend, particularly in light of the film's competition, the highly publicized The Founding of a Republic.[4] Cow was also nominated in seven categories for Taiwan's 46th Golden Horse Film Awards, including best director.[5] The film would go on to win best actor for Huang Bo and best adapted screenplay for Guan Hu.[6]
Despite its seemingly simple story, Guan Hu's presentation of Cow has been described as both "hyper-realistic and surreal"[4] and "magical-realist"[2] by critics, particularly in its use of a non-linear narrative structure.[2]