Gaav ("The Cow"), is a 1969 film from Iran directed by Dariush Mehrjui.
The entire film takes place in a tiny remote village that lacks electricity or running water. Mash Hassan, a middle-aged man, is the owner of the only cow in the little village. As such, he is a man of some importance, as all the other villagers (it looks like there can't be more than 100, and maybe less) come to him for milk. Mash Hassan clearly loves his cow, cooing gently to it when he takes it down to the pond for a wash, and buying little decorative headdresses for the cow to wear.
One day, when Mash Hassan is out of town, the cow dies. The villagers, and their unofficial leader Mash Islam, panic at the prospect of telling Mash Hassan that his cow is dead. They decide to cushion the blow by telling him that the cow ran away. It doesn't work, and Mash Hassan, faced with the loss of the only thing that gives his life meaning (and that includes his wife), has a breakdown.
Tropes:
- As You Know: One of the villagers sees a woman with a bucket, informs her that Mash Hassan and his cow are out of town (Mash Hassan is bathing the cow by a pond), and then comments that "And here there is no more than one cow." Given how tiny and isolated the village is, obviously everyone who lives there would already know that.
- A Boy and His X: Mash Hassan has a deep emotional attachment to his cow, murmuring endearments, decorating the cow with garlands. When he comes home, he's brought back a sort of necklace for the cow to wear.
- Call-Back:
- The "Boulouris", who are—actually it's not clear what they are. The people of a rival village? Bandits? They appear to be symbolic of outsiders. In any event, early in the film as Mash Hassan is out walking with his cow, three Boulouris briefly follow him, making Mash Hassan fear that they are trying to steal his cow. At the end, when some of the villagers have tied up Mash Hassan and are trying to drag him to the nearest town, the three Boulouris are again shown briefly watching.
- When the villagers bury the cow by dumping it in the old well, there's a brief surrealistic slo-mo effect. There's a similar effect at the end, when Mash Hassan tumbles down a ravine to his death.
- Cock-a-Doodle Dawn: The rustic, primitive nature of the village is further underlined by the occasional sound of a rooster crowing in the mornings.
- Dog Got Sent to a Farm: The villagers tell Mash Hassan that the cow ran away. Mash Hassan starts cracking up almost immediately upon getting the news—he literally cannot accept the reality that the cow is gone—but even still, he's smart enough to tell the others that the cow couldn't possibly have run away because there's nowhere for it to run to. The town, after all, is completely surrounded by rocky, barren wasteland.
- Downer Ending: Mash Hassan goes insane. As some of the villagers attempt to drag him by ropes to a town, he breaks away from them, runs, goes topping over the edge of a ravine, and dies.
- Dramatic Drop: Mash Hassan is carrying a pail of water to the cowshed when he's informed that the cow has run away. He dramatically drops it, before running to the cowshed and finding it empty.
- Hollywood Darkness: Some of the scenes outside at night are curiously well lit, since the village has no electric lighting.
- I Reject Your Reality: Played for drama. Mash Hassan, faced with an empty cowshed, simply refuses to process the fact that the cow is gone, proceeding as if it is still there. Then he gets even worse.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Mash Islam, the reeve, and another villager are trying to drag Mash Hassan to town, which is proving difficult, because a tied-up Mash Hassan is fighting them every step of the way, and also because it's pouring rain. Finally Mash Islam snaps, whipping Mash Hassan and screaming "Move, you animal!" The reeve yells at Mash Islam to stop, which is followed by Mash Islam wearing a look of shock and shame on his face.
- Plot-Triggering Death: The story gets rolling in earnest about a quarter of the way through, when the cow up and dies for no obvious reason.
- Sanity Slippage: At first, Mash Hassan simply refuses to acknowledge that the cow is gone, standing vigil on his roof to protect the cow from thieves like he often does. Later he gets worse, saying that he is the cow. Eventually he basically becomes a cow, no longer speaking, living in the barn and eating hay.
