At exactly 90 minutes long, "Holy Cow," Louise Courvoisier's feature debut, doesn't give itself much leeway. The film gives the impression that a local is driving (and it is), hurtling down a French country road at uncomfortable speeds. The plot of the Death of the Father, a Found Family, conversations about youth, substance abuse, and aimlessness are presented, as well as romance, class struggle, and cheese. Each has a sprawling plot, but they aren't given time to mature, much like protagonist Totone (played by Clement Faveau) and his cheese.
This is, without a doubt, the story of Totone, the 18-year-old young man living in the Jura region of France. In my native Turkish, we call boys his age "crazy," and that suits Totone perfectly. He drinks, he flirts, he dares to expose himself naked at a village fair—all of which are inexplicable. He's a carefree drifter, pretty sure that's all life has to offer. Determined to be nothing like his father, a heavy drinker and constantly self-abasing, fate has other plans for him…
Director: Louise Courvoisier
Writers: Louise Courvoisier, Théo Abadie, Marcia Romano
Stars: Clément Faveau, Maïwene Barthelemy, Luna Garret
When his father suddenly disappears, life doesn't give Totone even a day to decide what to do. The young man throws himself into the obligations of adulthood almost in the blink of an eye. Life is a pool you're thrown into, and if you learn to swim quickly, you're out. Totone has a little sister to take care of and no family members to lend a hand. He can only use what he learned from his father to earn a living, so he starts working on a dairy farm. And that's hard work. You can party for one night, maybe two, before your body gives in to the daily grind of dairy farming and cheesemaking. No one can escape growing up in these conditions. Not even for a day. Hence Totone's coming-of-age story.
Past conflicts with the farm owner's sons will cost him dearly, and a young love affair with his daughter will create even more conflicts. Totone, still naive, will look for a shortcut to getting rich. And the region will present him with a solution: an award-winning Comté cheese can generate €30,000 in an instant. But when he has to steal milk and other ingredients from his girlfriend's farm, and his flirting with her could be interpreted as deception, Totone's easy path to riches is doomed to suffer setbacks.
This boy's journey to becoming a man and a trustworthy older brother is presented with a well-executed and audience-friendly formula in Holy Cow. Formulas are safe, and there's nothing wrong with that. You take a model, and if you find a new approach, ancient stories can still work—they will work forever. Holy Cow introduces us to this specific region and its cheesemaking culture. It creates well-developed characters to keep us engaged. Totone has flaws and makes many mistakes, but he remains honest about them. So we like him, we care. And it all just works.
First-time director Louise Courvoisier tells a familiar story from the region where he grew up, and authenticity and sincerity shine through in every character. All the young actors are extraordinary, but she's aware that she's found a rare find in the actor who plays Totone, Clément Faveau. The film doesn't have a single scene without him, and the camera is always close to the actor, treating him almost like a new Jamie Bell in Billy Elliott. Faveau truly has that kind of charm, and he delivers a very natural and comfortable performance. Totone is trying to achieve something, anything, and find his place in the world, like all his other friends. He doesn't shy away from this, nor does the film.
The script and direction seem as comfortable as Faveau. That Courvoisier filmed in his homeland must be a factor. Probably the only thing I wasn't convinced by was the young man's erectile dysfunction storyline. Because, you know, 18-year-olds... It seems like a plot device, just to emphasize how he overcomes it through his sexual awakening with Marie-Lise. Courvoisier certainly finds sweet ways to repair relationships and win hearts. I know "crowd-pleasing" isn't a word people always respect at film festivals, but a story with a sincere heart always goes a long way.
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