Vacas

Since 'Los Amantes del Círculo Polar' (1998), Julio Medem has been in my good books. This is one of his earlier masterpiece and I think this is one of the most powerful European movie in the 1990s, but very underrated, maybe because the Basque region (where the film sets) is not very popular nowadays. But if you watch this film, you will realize that those people are just like us with human feelings (fear, love, courage) and you will tolerate them. The only thing to do is to look into their eyes and you will understand that these people have been suffer and fight for freedom for centuries. Julio Medem is the most sophisticated and most sensitive contemporary Spanish director and in lot of aspects his works are much better than Almodóvar's and Saura's films because his style is cleared-out. This film is only 91 minutes long but it covers the story of two rival families from 1875 till 1936 so the story is very tense. But in my opinion if someone knows what he wants to say, he can say it in short and says the entity. Medem says the entity. The scenes of the woodsmen contest is one of the most thrilling and exciting scene what I've ever seen. The cinematography and the music are also superb it's full of surprising cinematographical solutions, like in the 'Los Amantes...'.

Check this film, you won't be disappointed and you will find a real treasure and become a fan of Julio Medem. 100%

With this brilliant debut film, Julio Medem placed himself almost instantly into the ranks of Spain's leading directors, along with Carlos Saura and Pedro Almodovar.

From the suspenseful footage of barefoot woodchoppers to the sprawling family rivalries to the chaos of war, Medem brings a unique vision and a sharp edge to this Basque historical saga. His later films are equally masterful, but this is the one time he chooses to grapple with the history of his Basque homeland instead of telling a contemporary and character-centered story.

The plot can be a bit tricky to follow for those unfamiliar with Spanish history, and the lush beauty of the film definitely calls more for a big screen than for video. I can't make your screen bigger, but as for the history, I may be able to help with what most confuses the typical American viewer:

The Carlists were supporters of a series of 19th century pretenders to the Spanish throne and constituted an alliance of Basque nationalists with right-wing Spaniards, allied on the basis of Catholic faith. The Carlists advocated absolute monarchy (against the ruling liberal constitutional monarchy), but were willing to grant the Basque region considerable autonomy. Later, in the Spanish Civil War, the Basque nationalists allied to the left, siding with the secular Republic (which also offered them autonomy) against Franco's centralizing fascist forces. Thus to be a Basque nationalist family over the span of this history led to some paradoxical alliances over time.

"Vacas" a film debut by Julio Medem is an astonishing work and one of the best films in the spanish filmaking history. It is a masterpiece about the conflict between two basque families, from XIX to XX century. Masterly directing, superb acting and writing, and excellent photography and music. Everything filmed with poetic and lyric, that gives the film a very special image, and with the presence of the cows (vacas) and the basque tradition of cutting trunks. Do not miss that film, it is a superb work by a director, that in my opinion is one of the best directors around the world for the last ten years.

What is most remarkable about VACAS in hindsight is how quickly Medem settled into his unique, thrilling style - elliptical narrative which foregrounds inter-generational families, subjectivity, ambiguity, fate, magic, repetition, doubling; transcendent philosophical concerns grounded in brutal violence, earthy humour, identifiable characters and animal imagery; an astonishing use of colour as both emotional and ironic signifier; a busy, almost cheerful camera style which switches with ease from the panorama to the extreme detail, making great mental demands, but offering even greater rewards.

VACAS invokes many genres, in particular the historical epic, and subverts them with dark glee, offering a dizzying, disturbing, unpalatable, ornate, sickening, epiphanic classic that might lose its way halfway through, but paves the way for an even greater masterpiece like TIERRA.

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.