It is what it sounds like, a documentary film about the life of a cow (or rather two cows), it received positive reviews and sounded like it might be interesting, so I was up for it, directed by Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank, American Honey). Basically, it is a close-up portrait of the daily lives of a dairy cow named Luma and her calf. It starts with the birth of the calf, assisted by the farm worker, before it is separated from the mother. Luma is often taken for milking and is sometimes checked over by farmer works and veterinarians, including cutting her hooves. The calf meanwhile grows up in its own pen, and is disbudded (dehorned) using hot rods, it is done for safety reasons, for both the animal and the humans. Luma and her calf are let out occasionally into the fields (separately) to eat fresh grass. At one point, Luma is taken to be mated, put into a pen with a male cow and eventually he mounts her, and at this moment R&B music can be heard and there are fireworks banging in the sky. Luma is later confirmed as pregnant, and she later gives birth to another calf. It ends with a farm work shooting Luma dead with a pistol, while the calf continues to grow up. The film features no commentary or dialogue, besides the occasional casual words of the farm workers and veterinarians. It also does not have any music soundtrack, besides audible R&B songs on a distant radio heard during the milking sessions, and the song "Milk" by Garbage plays in the end credits. The direction by Arnold is simplistic but effective, and the cinematography by Magda Kowalczyk is improvised but observational and intimate. It simply captures the everyday events a cow goes through on a farm, including milking, feeding, mating, check-ups, birthing, and yes, death. It is perhaps melancholic for the treatment of the animals in some instances and is quietly confrontational and acknowledges what a great service a cow does for us, producing milk (and eventually meat, let's be honest). In general, it is a surprisingly interesting and compelling watch, a fascinating documentary. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Documentary. Very good!