Wen 丨 Wu Zeyuan
Fans who pay attention to the year-end top ten film lists of major media will probably notice the frequent appearance of "The First Cow". What kind of movie is this? Who is Kelly Lecat? Why does a work with such an eccentric name become the darling of the critics?
This question is confusing, just as director Kelly Lecat's name would be unfamiliar to people. Even though she has become the favorite director of the French "Film Manual" with a series of masterpieces such as "Wendy and Lucy", "Night Action", "Some Kind of Woman", and one of the most outstanding directors in the United States today, she does not even need to add a meaningless prefix such as "female director".
The new Issue of the Film Handbook curated dozens of pages of major features for Leikat
But most of Lei carter's films are set in the barren interior of the American Northwest (Montana, Oregon); although they have stars (Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg), they have always been outside the Hollywood business system, and Lei carter himself has no willingness to cater to this system. This made her fame extremely mismatched with her artistic achievements.
But there's an interesting thing that might give you a general idea of Leickate's temperament. In 2010, her anti-genre Western, Mick's Short Road, premiered at the Venice Film Festival, but then-president Quentin Tarantino considered the minimalist film to be boring and even included it on his list of bad films of the year.
Nine years later, Quentin competed for the Palme d'Or at Cannes with his masterpiece Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Guess who is on this jury? Kelly Lecat. "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" ended up in a nonchalant way, and Leikat was furious in an interview afterwards:
"I can't understand the machismo in this movie: white men take off their shirts and show muscle on the roof, white men fat beat Bruce Lee, white men set fire to the 'stinky hippies' in their eyes... Why are there people who are so keen on the narrative of "White Man Saves the World"? I think it's interesting, but I don't understand it at all."
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Through this air confrontation, we can get a glimpse of Leicat's preferences and personalities. She rejects Hollywood's grand narrative; she thinks it's boring for a bunch of machismos to fight for face. Because of this, as a Western film that took place during the frontier development period of the United States, "The First Cow" is extremely gentle and private. Leikat may be stubborn, but her work is not about successful people with aggressive tendencies, but about small people who are quiet, shy, kind, introspective, and have all kinds of connections with nature.
The story of "The First Cow" is simple, it is about the friendship between two small people, which is deepened by the arrival of the "first cow" but is also in danger. In 1820, what would become the area of Oregon was just beginning to be infected by immigrants; the temporary town of shantytowns became a large market for all kinds of people to trade goods.
Nicknamed "Cookie", the white chef accompanies the hunting team to the town, accidentally encounters Chinese Jinglu, who is hunted down by the enemy and fleeing in a hurry, and kindly takes him in for one night. When the introverted "Little Chef" was abandoned by the hunting team, Jing Lu, who had escaped from the predicament, took him in in return.
The First Cow
As an opportunist who wants to start a business in the New World, Jing Lu has been discussing his fortune with "Little Chef". The first cow ordered by the town's rich merchants completely changed the fate of the two little people - at the instigation of Jing Lu, the two stole the cow's milk together and used it to make butter biscuits that were not available in the New World. Their biscuits immediately became bestsellers, and townspeople lined up to raise prices just to feast on them; even the stolen wealthy merchants raved about the biscuits and invited the two to their homes to order desserts.
From the process of establishing the friendship between "Little Chef" and Jing Lu, we can find Leikat's master brushstrokes. Her lens never wants to cover up, she just uses the lens to look directly at the truth, and leaves a gap in the framework of composition and narrative, waiting for the unexpected to come:
For the first time, the "little chef" came to Jing Lu's cluttered residence. The latter went outside the house to cut firewood, while the former shook off the dust for Jinglu's carpet.
As soon as the camera pans, the "little chef" sneaks out of the frame and does not know where to go, while Jing Lu returns to the house to burn the fire. There are two vacancies in the picture – one conspicuous, and the composition prepared for the double shot is only Jing Lu alone at this moment; and one that is easy to ignore: a blank space is left on the shelf in the Jing Lu house, waiting to be filled.
A few seconds later, the "little chef" returned to the house. Conspicuous vacancies were filled. What he brought back from the outside was a small bouquet of freshly picked flowers, which he put into the vacant square of the shelf, and the imperceptible but equally important vacancy in the room was now filled.
Jing Lu told the "little chef" that with the embellishment of flowers, the room suddenly looked different. The friendship between the two is also established in these carefully arranged details, subtle imbalances, and re-balanced interactive relationships. Leikat's directing technique is naturally indispensable.
The simple and simple bouquet of flowers also shows the "little chef's" perception of nature and beauty. The Lycat protagonist's closeness to nature is the common charm they have. Like an old friend who goes on a deep forest vacation in "Yesterday's Delight", and like the Indian girl who raises horses for a living in "Some Kind of Woman", Leikat's protagonist is either spiritually one with nature, or can freely immerse himself in nature and hide in the most perfect protective color when acting.
"Little Chef" belongs to the former of these two kinds of people. He has an innate affinity with nature. He was familiar with crops, rarely killed, and established a tacit connection with cows in a short time, which was the basis of his business with Jinglu.
The creature most closely associated with Jinglu is the tree. He hid under a tree when he first appeared, and when the "little chef" milked the cows, he let the wind blow on the branches. As for the business income of the two, he hid them in the tree hole. Like the resourceful owl in a fable, he is astute astute as he draws himself and his friends closer to success through endless ideas.
However, the American dream of the little people is destined to be crushed by the giants. When the owner of the cow discovers the truth behind the biscuit, "Little Chef" and Jing Lu are also forced to flee. They are separated in exile, and when they are reunited, they are both incredulous about what is in front of them—a relationship that is somehow akin to profit, and that will become a tough friendship when it ends.
Leikat shows two white bones at the beginning of the film, so at the end, she does not have to directly show the cruel ending of the two protagonists. We only see that the head-injured "little chef" is unable to escape, and Jing Lu, who has money in his hand, also lies down next to him because he is unwilling to abandon his friends. The little chef's eyes were already tightly closed. And Jing Lu? Will the stars in his eyes be reflected before it's all over?
The answer may not matter. Because Leikart's work itself is a moving star. "The First Cow" is not an Olympic bid film, not an "art film" of pretentious utilitarianism, nor a political manifesto eager to take a stand. Leikat has good judgment on an intellectual level, but her films are never pedantic because they are always based on characters and emotions.
"The First Cow" is a hymn to ordinary people who have been crushed by the wheels of history, and it is also a tribute to friendship. In an era of impetuous utilitarianism, it is so incompatible with the surrounding environment, but it is so beautiful and so worthy of being cherished.