We Are Obsessed With The Trailer For ‘First Cow’, A Film About A Trailblazing Cow

In First Cow, cow is the loneliest number.

The first trailer (also lonely) has dropped for First Cow, a pensive drama from production company A24, who over the past few years have built up a reputation for releasing stunning, critically acclaimed films (eg. Moonlight, Hereditary, The Farewell, The Florida Project, Uncut Gems).

Directed by Kelly Reichardt (Certain Women, aka one of our top picks of the decade), First Cow is set on the American Northwest frontier in the 19th century, following a blossoming friendship between a lone cook (John Magaro) and a Chinese immigrant (Orion Lee).

The two help a wealthy frontiersman with his cow — the first cow of the area.

“This ain’t a place for cows,” says one character at one point. “This ain’t no place for white men, either,” says another.

In the drama, the cow proves popular, offering yummy milk and milk-products for those on the harsh frontier.

Based off Reichardt’s previous work (and the fact it’s based off an acclaimed novel by her repeat screenplay collaborator Jon Raymond, plus Alia Shawkat cameos), we have no doubt First Cow is a moving meditation on frontier-masculinity and cross-racial friendship in the complicated colonial landscape. Early reviews are incredibly positive too, with Indiewire commending its “timeless resonance”.

But all this ignores one very important thing. Sure, a cow is a potent image for how the agricultural domination of land adds a domestic sheen to colonial violence, but we need to address that First Cow‘s title is very funny.

We’re not the only ones who think so either. When the trailer dropped yesterday, film Twitter went a little stir-crazy.

me buying a cow after i watch first cow (2020) pic.twitter.com/uKLtSQgJ9v

— Bisexual Colin Farrell (@patti_smiths) January 8, 2020

think First Cow is gonna feel like the film equivalent of this image pic.twitter.com/5DLXKsUmFT

— Film Fish (@fishereviews) January 8, 2020

first cow (dir. kelly reichardt, 2019) pic.twitter.com/rv0zrJHFeo

— nick usen (@nickusen) January 8, 2020

waiting for First Cow like pic.twitter.com/NLccawnlNC

— rob trench (@robtrench) January 8, 2020

watching the tl wild out over First Cow pic.twitter.com/piDm0YmgWI

— brianna “friend of jimmy hoffa” zigler (@briannazigs) January 8, 2020

First Cow fancam pic.twitter.com/6QPhy2JXai

— caden mon amour (@caden_cade_out) January 8, 2020

First Cow will be released in the US March 6: an Australian release is unknown. Watch the mooving trailer below.