Stars: Carmelo Gomez, Emma Suarez, Ana Torrent, Carlos Zabala, Karra Elejalde

Director: Julio Medem

Summary: A sergeant fighting in the trenches in 1875 is desperate for news of his family. Befriending a neighbour, an inexperienced soldier who has just joined the battalion the two men bring about events which are set to link their two families together forever... Spanish dialogue.

The political and social climate of the Basque country of Spain is constantly in flux, yet the cows of the region are steadfast and calm, observing the unusual changing human culture without reaction. This is one of the themes of Julio Medem's (LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE) insightful film about the insecure government and often frightening living situation in Spain. The film follows the path of one man who in the late 1800s nearly dies during a feud on the family farm. To save himself, he covers his body in the blood of a dead friend and lies still. The film moves forward under the gaze of the cows as the man grows old. He now paints the cows and their calm, emotionless stares. A love affair between his grandson and the granddaughter of his deceased friend begins to spark. The film ends in the Civil War of 1936 when an illegitimate son appears in the old man's life. This 1992 Spanish feature is a powerful work from an underrated figure in world cinema.

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With Vacas, his first feature, the Basque director Julio Medem set out all the elements of his audacious and idiosyncratic approach to filmmaking: intricate, circular plots; richly sensual imagery and highly stylised camerawork; a deft interweaving of fantasy and reality; and a thoroughly subversive attitude to Spanish tradition and folklore. Vacastakes a staple Spanish genre--the epic historical melodrama with all its bombast and macho posturing--and kicks the stuffing out of it while pelting it with cowpats.

The action unrolls between two Spanish civil wars--the Second Carlist War of 1874-5, and the rather better-known conflict that started in 1936. An incident in the first of these sets up a feud between two farming families in a Basque valley, and the story leapfrogs down the decades taking in star-crossed lovers, log-chopping contests (a staple Basque competitive sport, it seems), mutilation, madness, incest, photography and any number of cows, through whose placidly bemused gaze we view a good deal of the action.

Though Medem is dealing with all the solemn Hemingway-esque elements of romantic Spanishry--honour, blood and death--his approach is too playful to admit any real sense of tragedy. Much of the time the tone is closer to myth, and there's more than a touch of magic realism: axes fly miles through the air, and a tree in the woods can apparently eat people alive. In the end, of course, love triumphs over all. Medem's films have since gained greatly in sophistication and technique, but there's exuberance about this debut work that's irresistible.

On the DVD:Vacason disc has trailers for all five of Medem's features to date; filmographies for Medem and his two lead actors, Emma Suárez and Carmelo Gómez; and useful written notes on the movie by film historian Robert Stone. The transfer's clean and clear, doing justice to Carles Gusi's rich photography, with good sound and in the original ratio. --Philip Kemp

Aspect Ratio:	Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	Spanish
Region:	Region 0
Special Features:	Star And Director Filmographies, Scene Selection, Promotional Art Gallery, Robert Stone Film Notes, Original Theatrical Trailer, World Cinema Trailer Reel
Subtitles:	English
Year:	1992
Release Date:	June 24, 2002
Runtime:	92 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	T V D 3377
Keywords:	Subtitled, General, Wide, Screen, Spanish, Drama, Cows, Vacas
Genre:	Drama