Vacas (1992)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Julio Medem

Writers:

Michel Gaztambide (writer)
Julio Medem (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 February 1992 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Set in the Basque region, a story of the rivalry of two families, period 1870-1935

Plot Keywords:

Basque | Civil War | Cowardice | Cow | Full Circle

Awards:

8 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Emma Suárez	...	Cristina
Carmelo Gómez	...	Manuel, Ignacio and Peru Irigibel
Ana Torrent	...	Catalina
Karra Elejalde	...	Ilegorri / Lucas
Klara Badiola	...	Madalen (as Clara Badiola)
Txema Blasco	...	Manuel
Kandido Uranga	...	Carmelo / Juan
Pilar Bardem	...	Paulina
Miguel Ángel García	...	Peru as a child
Ane Sánchez	...	Cristina as a child
Magdalena Mikolajczyk	...	Daughter as a child
Enara Azkue	...	Daughter as a child
Ortzi Balda	...	Ilegorri / Lucas as a child
Elisabeth Ruiz	...	Old Daughter
Ramón Barea	...	Juez

Also Known As:

Cows

Runtime:

96 min | UK:92 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Company:

Sociedad General de Televisión (Sogetel)

Quotes:

Manuel: This is important. This is very important. This is very, very important.

Movie Connections:

Featured in La pelota vasca. La piel contra la piedra (2003)

Medem has his own style of telling a story

If life itself is cyclical, the telling of it must be so, too. This is evident in films like `Los Amantes del Círculo Polar' (1998) (qv) and `Lucía y el Sexo' (2001) (qv), both seen a long way previously to `Vacas' which I have only just recently been able to see - and where better but on the Basque Channel (Euskal Telebista).

This story takes up over 60 years leading up to the eve of the Spanish Civil War in the high valleys and hills of Euskadi (Basque Country). Two rival families eke out a living. Highly charged with symbolisms - cows - and metaphorisms, as well as the ever-present rôle of Basque culture, such as the `aizkolari', the film proceeds unhurriedly through the years, unveiling an almost mysterious world of superstitions, envy and mistrust.

The cyclical effect of the film is enhanced by some of the main actors - Carmelo Gómez, for example - playing more than one character as the years go by, thus assuring that the spectator has to be on his toes and aware of how the film's story is progressing.

Good work here by Carmelo Gómez, and the rest of the cast is well up to Medem's demands. Superb photography by Carles Gusi, and as ever Alberto Iglesias' music is really good, mirroring well the scenery, its people and the story line. Well worth watching if you get the chance.