Driush Mehrjui's The Cow

The reading really helped to tie some of the loose ends of the movie together. I found the information about Frued's "Heimlich" and "Unheimlich" ideas and the effects of Saedi's relationships with his parents especially interesting.

In the reading the is information of Saedi's life and childhood. He thought that his mother was his sister and his actual sister, whom he never met, died before he was born. His grandmother died while he was young and his father left the family. At the end of the reading it is argued that Saedi had a love for his mother that was incestuous and a hatred toward his father that was parricidal. The cow reflected Saedi's life because he created the character Hassan who had a love for the cow that was "as much incestuous as his death wish is parricidal".
In the scene where Hasaan is feeding his cow his love for it is very strong. It can be compared to the "incestuous" love that one might have for their mother. He is hysterical with joy over the cow. Once the cow dies Hasaan is depressed and becomes more like a cow himself. These actions are said to be parricidal. He has given up on life and is purposefully destroying himself which ultimately destroys his father(his father's lineage). Perhaps Hassan felt as though he had a significant purpose then the cow was alive. It was the only cow in the village and the people benifited. Once the cow dies Hasaan felt that he did not have anything else to offer. His prized cow gave him power.
Saedi's inspiration for the cow came from the "Heimlich" and "Unheimlich" memories of his childhood. Heimlich is the familiar and Unheimlich represents the uncanny. Saedi had much more uncanny because he witnessed the passing of many people that were close to him. His inspiration also stemmed from an interest in psychology and politics. After looking at the film and reading I feel a bit confused. There are many possible underlying themes but I think that only Saedi knows exactly what message he was trying to get accross.