The Cow- Maggie Varga

There are many things that can be addressed regarding Dariush Mehrjui's The Cow. To start  out on a lighter note, I noticed how close the community in the film was. When Hassan's wife cried out into the street, the people of the town immediately came to her side. When they discovered Hassan's cow had died, they all got together to bury it before he returned. They mourned for the cow together and all felt connected. 
Hassan's obsession with his cow was disturbing. He spent the majority of his time with the cow, bathing it and feeding it, all the while giggling like a school girl. He focused most of his attention on that cow rather than any other aspect in his life, including his wife. He showed more love to the cow than his wife. When the town let him know his cow was gone, he grieved more intensely than he would his wife. He fell into a deep depression and tried to fill the hole in his heart by acting like a cow himself. He would hide in the barn where the cow used to reside, eat hay, and the people of the town would have to take care of him and feed him. He was truly broken by the passing of his cow. 
I am sure when and where this film was made, cows were (or are still) sacred to those who own them. In Hassan's case, however, he made that cow his entire life. His whole existence and happiness was because of that cow. This shows signs of obsession and depression, which are very serious mental illnesses. At the end of the film, the townspeople tie him up like cattle and take him to the mountain. The people of the town are now even treating Hassan like he is a cow. They whip him and yell that he is an animal. He finally escapes their clutches and hurls his body down the mountain. If Hassan cannot be with his beloved animal on this earth, he decided to die like an animal himself.