Holy Cow
Louise Courvoisier's César-winning rural study of adolescence introduces an impressive new acting talent in Clément Faveau.
Image courtesy of Conic.
Holy Cow is a film which in more ways than one has a character that is all its own. The director making her feature debut here is Louise Courvoisier and she is one of three sharing the credit for the screenplay. She was born in 1994 in Geneva but would grow up in Cressia in the French Jura region, the very area in which Holy Cow is set. This part of France is rarely seen in films and the fact that Courvoisier’s film is so intent on conveying rural life there is part of what gives her film its individuality. A local fair is featured both in the opening and closing sections of Holy Cow, the making of Comté cheese is a central element and a related competition that carries a substantial cash prize plays a prominent role in the story. Yet another activity in that area which has a part in the film’s final scenes is stock car racing.
If capturing the local atmosphere on screen feels a central aim here, so too is the way in which Courvoisier approaches the story being told. The central character is Totone, a youth of eighteen, who hangs out with his pals but suddenly find himself with unexpected responsibilities. His father who drinks too much crashes his car and is killed and, with no other family members around who can help out, Totone finds himself responsible for looking after his seven-year-old sister, Claire (Luna Garret). He has to take her to and from school and for money finds a job which sees him collecting milk from farms in the area (cheesemaking is the main local industry) and sells his late father's tractor. But Totone does not always behave well, sometimes gets hung over and can be aggressive and jealous as emerges when it comes to rivalry over a passing girl-friend named Aurora (Lorelei Vasseul). He attacks the boy seen as his rival, Cyril (Armand Sancey Richard), who retaliates and this leads to a fight which costs Totone his job. However, Cyril has a sister, Marie-Lise (Maïwene Barthelemy), who, young as she is, is running a farm on her own and before long a potentially more significant relationship grows up between her and Totone which she hides from Cyril. But by this time Totone has heard of the Comté cheesemaking competition and, despite his limited knowledge of how to do it, decides to enter. To do that he needs quality milk and he proceeds to enlist his best friends (Mathis Bernard and Dimitry Baudry) in stealing milk from Marie-Lise’s farm even though if found out it could jeopardise his relationship with her.
It will be realised that there is dramatic potential here since such elements as the death of Totone's father and the risk of further violence if the theft of the milk is discovered could easily be built up to make a forceful narrative. But instead of that – and this is the other key element that gives this film its individuality – Courvoisier’s aim is to make a laid-back movie which is handled in a mode of everyday realism even when the events portrayed carry extra drama. There is in this approach something close to documentary and, indeed, much of the footage devoted to cheesemaking would not be out of place in a non-fiction film. This realism is carried over to the way in which Totone himself and the other adolescent figures are shown. There is nothing actorly in the performances of these roles and the screenplay makes them come across as immature in outlook and behaviour rendering them very realistic examples of youths of their age. Indeed, the sense of naturalism is strong enough in Holy Cow for one to feel that it is a bit out of place when unexpectedly a montage of scenes appears built up around the Jimmie Rodgers recording of ‘Kisses Are Sweeter Than Wine' (the song is in itself a suitable choice but the way in which it is used makes it seem stylistically inappropriate).
What does work splendidly is the casting of the lead roles. Maïwene Barthelemy is well suited to the role of Marie-Lise but it is Clément Faveau, seemingly making his debut, who is the key figure and who ensures that Totone exists as a totally rounded individual. He is at once vulnerable and misguided yet also capable of growing into a worthwhile adult. Indeed, that growth can be seen as the central concern of this film but its understated manner, convincing as it is, does limit the power of the piece: the personal tale unfolds at the same steady pace throughout with any highlights played down and the documentary-style episodes, especially those around the cheesemaking, don't quite blend in to create a satisfying whole.
Ultimately then Holy Cow doesn't satisfy as fully as one might wish, but Clément Faveau’s performance is a highlight and by giving us a film with such a personal voice Louise Courvoisier has shown a talent that makes one interested in what she might do next.
Original title: Vingt dieux.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Clément Faveau, Maïwene Barthelemy, Luna Garret, Mathis Bernard, Dimitry Baudry, Armand Sancey Richard, Lucas Marillier, Lorelei Vasseul, Jean-Marie Ganneval, Damien Bilon, Hervé Parent.
Dir Louise Courvoisier, Pro Muriel Maynard, Screenplay Louise Courvoisier, Théo Abadie and Marcia Romano, Ph Elio Balezeaux, Pro Des Ella Courvoisier, Ed Sarah Grosset, Music Linda Curvoisier and Charlie Courvoisier, Costumes Perrine Ritter.
Ex Nihilo/France 3 Cinéma/Auvergne Rhône Alpes Cinéma/Canal+/Ciné+-Conic.
92 mins. France. 2024. US Rel: 28 March 2025. UK Rel: 11 April 2025. Cert. 15.
