Holy Cow – Film Review
by Frank L.

Director – Louise Courvoisier
Writers – Louise Courvoisier, Théo Abadie, Marcia Romano
Stars – Clément Faveau, Maïwene Barthelemy, Luna Garret

Director Louise Courvoisier comes from rural Jura in France, where she sets her first feature film. Courvoisier chooses as the centrepiece of her story a youth of 18 years of age, Totone (Clement Faveau), who is energetic and acts on instinct and impulse. Easy access to alcohol is part of his everyday life. No reference is ever made to his mother, but his life is upended by the death of his father in an accident, and he has to take care of his seven-year-old sister Claire (Luna Garrett). He has little or no money.

Against the background of a county fair and stock car racing, he gets the unlikely idea of crafting a wheel of Comte cheese with the fantastic prospect of winning a 30,000 euro prize. All he possesses for this enterprise is some abandoned cheese-making equipment which belonged to his dead father. Most importantly, he has no milk. The search for milk leads him to a young farmer, Marie-Lise (Maiwene Barthelemy). He is carefree, on a coming-of-age journey and has no scruples about the ownership of the milk that he requires. He and Marie Lise come to an accommodation, and Courvoisier leads us through some of the challenges that Totone faces as he tries to create a Comte cheese. The enthusiasm and energy of uninhibited youth shine through these endeavours.

The cast are all first timers and Courvoisier creates a world of youthful energy surrounded by the beautiful countryside of the Jura.  In this world, all things seem possible even if you know they have to be a pipe dream.

Courvoisier makes the rawness of her characters’ everyday existence into a work of art. It is direct and energetic. It has an earthy quality which gives the story a feral innocence. It lasts only an hour and a half, but at the end there is a great sense of admiration for Totone’s unorthodox coming-of-age journey and his madcap scheme to make a prize-winning cheese. It is heart-warming.