‘Holy Cow’ Review – Éric Rohmer For The Working Class [Cannes 2024]

Vingt Dieux (Holy Cow) is a movie bathed in sunlight. Louise Courvoisier’s feature debut screened at Un Certain Regard during this year’s Cannes Film Festival is a stripped-bare, ‘it’s always sunny in the French Countryside’ kind of film.

The film starts with a long backshot of one of the characters walking in the farmer’s market, bringing to mind the works of Wong Kar-wai and Xavier Dolan but also the kindness that Éric Rohmer showed for his film protagonists and his landscapes. We follow Totone as his coming-of-age tale unfolds in the village where he lives with his father and younger sister. Tragedy strikes the family and added responsibility is thrown on Totone’s shoulder, especially when he faces an unpleasant situation at his new workplace.

This film feels like it’s been extracted from the golden age of ‘90s coming-of-age films. It has all the wondrous, magical elements of a teenage protagonist growing up in an environment where he’s not comfortable in his skin. Courvoisier shoots her actors and the landscapes beautifully, she places them against a lush background of life in the village with cattle and the Comté cheese dictating and directing people’s dynamics.

It’s not until Maiwenn Barthelemy appears on screen, playing the tough, sexual young farmer Marie-Lise, that the film starts to liven up. Marie-Lise is sexual, smells like a cow, and dresses and undresses with ease in front of others, her entire existence relying on her self-assuredness. She’s a lovely presence on screen and a complementary presence to Totone’s confusion, especially when comparing her sexual liberty to his shyness and awkwardness.

It’s obvious how Courvoisier relies on feelings rather than impressive camera work and introspective extreme closeups. Working her way instead to depict life as it is, without the intrusion of her artistic interpretation of the events on the screen. Some scenes are visibly more metaphorically expressive than others, but in general, the film is concerned with the imprint of the human soul on everyday life. As farmers gather together to make cheese or drive tractors, a faraway world comes to life. Repressed feelings -as is the way in the hardworking class’s life- are outlined in bursts of anger or purging after a drunken stupor.

It is clear how she loves Clément Faveau, the non-actor playing Totone. A real-life farmer, his familiarity with the surroundings and his whereabouts makes it easy to place him anywhere on screen, and sense how he easily fits in, even playing such a disgruntled teenager, displeased with his life in a typical teenage emo way. As events progress and the film peels more layers from his character, Totone becomes attractive and visible, losing his alienated past and connecting with his world on a deeper level. 

Holy Cow is a movie that would have made Rohmer proud. It’s that subtlety that only stems from a good command of the visual language. Courvoisier has that and more, she is not only bringing a fresh eye to a romanticized piece of working-class cinema but also trying to dig in for the hidden sensitivities in a world accustomed to brushing them under the rug.

Holy Cow held its World Premiere as a part of the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. 

Director: Louise Courvoisier

Screenwriters: Louise Courvoisier, Théo Abadie

Rated: NR

Runtime: 90m