Heather Goslin's Response to The Cow

After watching The Cow, I was left asking myself a lot of questions. Why did Hassan love that cow so much? Why couldn’t the townspeople tell Hassan the truth about the cow? Why did Hassan start acting like the cow? What was the point of the film? I was flat out confused. After reading the summary of the film and Dabashi’s piece, I put two and two together, and had a better understanding of The Cow. I really connected with Dabashi’s interpretation of metempsychosis and its use in the film. Hassan and the cow had a bond that he did not have with any other being. Even though Hassan was becoming mentally unstable, he still felt a connection with his cow. Maybe he did not want to come to the realization that it was dead. 

            

For me, the big turning point in the film was when the villagers buried Hassan’s cow. I believe Mehrjui wanted it to be that way because it was one of the scenes with the most editing. The cow was dropped in the hole, almost in slow motion. Everything goes quiet and if I remember correctly, the camera focuses on the cow’s head, and the screen turns white. This scene in a way told the viewer that the cow was much more important than it was once thought to be. From there, the film was a little more interesting and the pace picked up a little bit.