Scenes of Ana Torrent, Emma Suárez, and Elisabeth Ruiz in Julio Medem's masterpiece - Vacas.
For a debut feature, Julio Medem’s “Vacas” [Eng. Title: Cows] is extraordinarily mature in craftmanship and execution. It’s as if he had already set the template for his style of filmmaking – imprints of which can be found in all his films since then. Even though I had seen his second film “La Ardilla Roja” earlier, it was “Vacas” that made me a true fan of the maestro, and through the years he’s never failed to impress. This still remains one of my all-time favourite Medem films along with “Los Amantes del Circulo Polar” – it is European cinema at it’s best. I’m not surprised he won the Goya for the best new director the following year.
The story spans three generations of two feuding families – neighbours – in the Basque country. But I’m at a loss as to where to begin writing about this masterpiece – Sr. Medem has crammed in so many themes and references, some of which still debated to this day in film forums, that it would require a wholly different topic to extol its virtues. And yes, there are some minor imperfections here and there, but this only adds to the film’s charm. All I can say is – don’t miss this film if you get a chance.
I’ve combined several scenes in this compilation from my DVD which I found relevant to this blog. The first part is when Catalina, played by Ana Torrent, loses her virginity to her neighbour under dramatic circumstances – they had loved each other from a distance until then. The second part is when Catalina sneaks out in the night to rendezvous with her lover who is now married to someone else – their son notices but pretends to be asleep – but when she returns, she sees her possessive brother waiting for her. There is then a brief exposure from Elisabeth Ruiz as she feeds her baby while being watched by people around, and finally Cristina, played by a cute Emma Suárez is being photographed by her half brother – she was twenty eight when she did this film but barely looks older than fifteen.
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I have just watched the two films vacas 1992 and La ardilla roja 1993 and enjoyed both.
I am very confused at the look of Emma Suárez in vacas. The difference between the release date of both the films is only 13 months. How can she be so young in vacas?
Her looks from film Contra el Viento 1990 are similar to that of La ardilla roja.
Great films both. It’s all in the costume, make-up and camera work. Let’s not forget Ms. Suárez was nearly 28 when she did Vacas.