Vacas

Plot synopsis:
Fighting in the trenches of Biscay in 1875 during the Third Carlist War, Carmelo Mendiluze, an army sergeant, learns from a young errand boy named Ilegorri that Manuel Iriguíbel, his neighbor from his native village, has joined their exhausted battalion. Eager for news of his child's birth, Carmelo befriends the inexperienced soldier whose reputation as an expert aizcolari (competition log cutter) cannot conceal his apprehension and fear of armed combat. Panicking under fire, Manuel drops to the ground and smears himself with blood gushing hot from the neck of his mortally wounded neighbor, Mendiluze. When the battle is over, Manuel crawls out from a cartload of the dead, naked bodies as he is transported away from the front lines. Nobody has seen his escape, except a curious, solitary cow.
Thirty years later, in 1905 in rural Guipúzcoa, a lingering animosity has continued between the Mendiluze and Iriguíbel families. Manuel, now an old man, is still regarded as a coward; he spends his time painting the family’s cows watched over by his three granddaughters, the offspring of his son Ignacio Iriguíbel and his wife Madalen. Ignacio and Carmelo's son, Juan Mendiluze, have maintained family traditions by honing their skills as aizcolari. Despite the strained relations between the neighbors, the destinies of the two families are fatefully interconnected. Juan's sister, Catalina, cannot conceal her romantic interest for Ignacio as she furtively watches him practice cutting logs in the woods - an attraction that proves to be mutual through Ignacio's playful attempts to catch her already piqued attention. Paulina, the Mendiluze widow, warns her daughter that her interest for Ignacio Iriguíbel will bring the downfall of the Mendiluze family. In an attempt to capitalize from the rivalry between the two families, Ilegorri, now a grown man, arranges a waged competition between Ignacio and Juan. Ignacio wins and his career as an aizcolari contender is launched. Catalina and Ignacio start a secret affair.
Ten years later, in the spring of 1915, Ignacio returns home after traveling to national competitions. He now enjoys fame and success. Although Ignacio takes cares of his family farm, he neglects Madalen, his wife. He is promptly reunited with Catalina, and they have a ten-year-old son. After the death of their mother, the relationship between the bitter Juan and Catalina is increasingly strained. Juan, still a bachelor, is more obsessed and delusional in his incestuous feelings for his sister. Catalina, afraid of him, wants to escape to America with Ignacio. A close childhood friendship develops between Peru, Catalina and Ignacio's ten-year-old illegitimate son, and his half-sister Cristina; they wander amidst the mountain forest under the supervision of their limp and old grandfather, Manuel. Eventually the boy's parents elope to America and take him with them.
In the summer of 1936, Peru has left his family behind, coming back to Guipúzcoa, as a photojournalist reporting on the Spanish Civil War. The Mendiluze farmhouse is empty. Juan, his uncle, has put on his Carlist red beret, joining the Nationalists. Peru is reunited with Cristina, his half-sister and childhood sweetheart. He stays at the Iriguíbel’s farm. Cristina has had a relationship with Lucas, Iligorri’s son. She shows Peru the last paintings made by their grandfather. The Spanish Civil War comes to the village. The men try to find refuge in the forest when the Nationalists come. Peru and Cristina follow them and are joined by Lucas, who offers to protect them. Lucas is killed and Peru is captured with the surviving men of the region. The men are executed but Peru is spared thanks to the intervention of Juan who recognizes him as his nephew. Reunited with Cristina, Peru and Cristina flee to the French frontier.

Tags: violence, murder, romantic

Review:
Medem's brilliant debut.
With this brilliant debut film, Julio Medem placed himself almost instantly into the ranks of Spain's leading directors, along with Carlos Saura and Pedro Almodovar.From the suspenseful footage of barefoot woodchoppers to the sprawling family rivalries to the chaos of war, Medem brings a unique  vision and a sharp edge to this Basque historical saga.
His later films are equally masterful, but this is the one time he chooses to grapple with the history of his Basque homeland instead of telling a contemporary and character-centered story.The plot can be a bit tricky to follow for those unfamiliar with Spanish history, and the lush beauty of the film definitely calls more for a big screen than for video.
I can't make your screen bigger, but as for the history, I may be able to help with what most confuses the typical American viewer:The Carlists were supporters of a series of 19th century pretenders to the Spanish throne and constituted an alliance of Basque nationalists with right-wing Spaniards, allied on the basis of Catholic faith.
The Carlists advocated absolute monarchy (against the ruling liberal constitutional monarchy), but were willing to grant the Basque region considerable autonomy.
Later, in the Spanish Civil War, the Basque nationalists allied to the left, siding with the secular Republic (which also offered them autonomy) against Franco's centralizing fascist forces.
Thus to be a Basque nationalist family over the span of this history led to some paradoxical alliances over time..
Interesting and thought-provoking film dealing with the fight between two families during three generations, from 1875 until 1936..
Spanish production with fine acting , colorful cinematography and rousing score by Alberto Iglesias .
Julio Medem directed the film for Sogetel and it was released in 1992 .
Set in the Basque region, a story of the rivalry of two families, period 1870-1935 .
A film set in the Basque region, beginning in the Carlist war , Basque Country, 1875 .
For decades Spain has been the scene of the Carlist Wars, and ending during the Spanish Civil war of 1936 .
The picture tells how one simple act of cowardice originates the spark of the next three generations of two families , the Irigibel and Mendiluce .
On the Carlist front sergeant Carmelo Mendiluce (Txema Blasco) learns his fellow villager Manuel Irigibel (Carmelo Gomez) has arrived as a recent rookie .
After that , 1915 , now is the time of a new generation , as there appears Peru Irigibel (Miguel Angel Garcia and grown-up performed by Carmelo Gomez) and Cristina Mendiluze (one-time-grown played by Emma Suarez) .
Later on , there takes place the Civil war (1936) and the events get worse .
Anyway, the film is interesting , thematically intriguing , and usually scathing of virtually all institutions and classes .
It tells the rise and downfall of two families , a long period of rivalry and hatred among them , they are excellently played by a magnificent plethora of main actors such as Carmelo Gomez , Emma Suarez and Karra Elejalde .
Adequate and atmospheric set design by Rafael Palmero , filmed on location in the Basque region , colorfully photographed by Carles Gusi .
Intriguing as well as evocative musical score by several times Oscar nominated Alberto Iglesias ."Vacas" was brilliantly received and became a big success .The motion picture was originally directed by Julio Medem who had been making short movies with a super-8 camera owned by his father until he received a call from a new production company called Sogetel and executive producers Fernando de Garcillán , José Luis Olaizola , Enrique López Lavigne .
It won the Goya Award from the Spanish academy for best new director, and won prizes in the festivals of Tokyo, Torino and Alexandria.
In 1993 Medem made his second movie, "The red squirrel¨.
It confirmed Medem's talents and won prizes in Fort Lauderdale, Bogota and Bucarest.
His third movie, "Tierra," released in 1996, was selected for the Cannes Film Festival.
In 1998 Medem released " The lovers of the Polar Circle ," considered his best movie by most of his fans .
In 2001 his fourth movie, "Lucia and sex ," became a huge hit and began the career of actress Paz Vega who won the Goya for best new actress .
In 2007 directed the flop ¨Caotica Ana¨ and in 2010 , ¨Room in Rome¨, a successful though with not sense film , plenty of nudism and only starred by two gorgeous naked girls .
Julio Medem is for sure one of the the most important and original Spanish filmmaker..
The opening scene, where a woodcutter's keeps swinging an axe, is a masterpiece of manipulation : you keep on expecting something dreadful until the tension becomes unbearable, though nothing really happens.
This is a current running through the film, which makes you think that Medem could make the scariest thriller if he wanted to, all through a weird familial story.
Medem has his own style of telling a story.
This is evident in films like `Los Amantes del Círculo Polar' (1998) (qv) and `Lucía y el Sexo' (2001) (qv), both seen a long way previously to `Vacas' which I have only just recently been able to see - and where better but on the Basque Channel (Euskal Telebista).This story takes up over 60 years leading up to the eve of the Spanish Civil War in the high valleys and hills of Euskadi (Basque Country).
Two rival families eke out a living.
Highly charged with symbolisms - cows - and metaphorisms, as well as the ever-present rôle of Basque culture, such as the `aizkolari', the film proceeds unhurriedly through the years, unveiling an almost mysterious world of superstitions, envy and mistrust.The cyclical effect of the film is enhanced by some of the main actors - Carmelo Gómez, for example - playing more than one character as the years go by, thus assuring that the spectator has to be on his toes and aware of how the film's story is progressing.Good work here by Carmelo Gómez, and the rest of the cast is well up to Medem's demands.
Superb photography by Carles Gusi, and as ever Alberto Iglesias' music is really good, mirroring well the scenery, its people and the story line.
Probably the best debut feature since BADLANDS..
What is most remarkable about VACAS in hindsight is how quickly Medem settled into his unique, thrilling style - elliptical narrative which foregrounds inter-generational families, subjectivity, ambiguity, fate, magic, repetition, doubling; transcendent philosophical concerns grounded in brutal violence, earthy humour, identifiable characters and animal imagery; an astonishing use of colour as both emotional and ironic signifier; a busy, almost cheerful camera style which switches with ease from the panorama to the extreme detail, making great mental demands, but offering even greater rewards.VACAS invokes many genres, in particular the historical epic, and subverts them with dark glee, offering a dizzying, disturbing, unpalatable, ornate, sickening, epiphanic classic that might lose its way halfway through, but paves the way for an even greater masterpiece like TIERRA..
Medem movie, not as good as always, but good anyway.
From 1875, (second Carlist war) to 1935 (Spanish CIvil War) in Basque Country, we are able to see the relationship between two near families, their discussions, their fight and their envies.
All is viewed form the point of view of the cows, so quiet, so peaceful, so able to forgive, while we watch to the humane, their madness their lack of respect for life, their irresponsibility.
Though it is hard to digest (too much for my taste) it is clear that it is a Medem's movie: the treatment of time, the sense of quietness in the environment and the development of the story.
But we can see a young Medem, not so expert in these tools, and the result is not good as is used in these author, as he was still a noob, but we are able to see that he was a promising talent.
Carmelo Gómez makes a terrific triple part and he is the one that builds the movie, everything happens around him and he is able to take the responsibility.
The director is able to mix in a curious way the peaceful live of cowman's in Basque Country (and cows too) with the horrors of the war.
It is not the best Medem's movie (well it is the worst he has done), but, being his opera prima, it is a pleasure to watch to it.
If you are able to digest more or less correctly his films, you should not let pass the opportunity of watching this one, although it is not as good as "Tierra" or "Los Amantes del Círculo Polar".
"Vacas" a film debut by Julio Medem is an astonishing work and one of the best films in the spanish filmaking history.
It is a masterpiece about the conflict between two basque families, from XIX to XX century.
Masterly directing, superb acting and writing, and excellent photography and music.
Everything filmed with poetic and lyric, that gives the film a very special image, and with the presence of the cows (vacas) and the basque tradition of cutting trunks.
Do not miss that film, it is a superb work by a director, that in my opinion is one of the best directors around the world for the last ten years..
An excellent movie!.
I originally saw Vacas at the Mill Valley Film Festival before its general release and thought then that it was one of the most exceptional films I had ever seen.If you have the opportunity to view it, you are in for a rare visual and story treat.Since it failed to make general US release in 1991, I have been searching for a VCR/DVD copy of it, with at the least English subtitles, in order to share it with others.
two of the most fascinating subjects in Carl Jung's psychoanalysis are synchronicity and the collective unconscious with its archetypes.
i am sure Jung would have loved this movie if he was alive this same day.
the subliminal moments of the movie are those when the most remote events, people and/or things seem to coincide in one point regardless of time and space.
this is what Carl Jung calls 'synchronicity'.
according to Jung, this synchronicities happen in our lives and their function is to indicate a meaning and purpose in life.
this type of strange coincidences happen to many people around the world during their lives.the symbolism is most obvious in manuel's drawings.
the way that manuel who appears as disconnected and insane, is on the contrary a well tuned connection with the collective unconscious, therefore, he has developed a strong sense of intuition where he can transcend and 'see' meaningful events in the future.
an excellent movie!by the way, please excuse my English if you find some wrong spelling and some grammatical mistakes.
Watching Vacas was an incredible experience for me, to say the least!
This was the second, and probably the last, movie-experience that totally blew me off my feet in ways I didn't think was possible (the first similar experience was watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in my pre-teen days).
Excuse me for sounding so pretentious, but this movie really hit a nerve in me, it obviously triggered something deeply hidden in my subconsciousness.
I'm afraid I would only ruining your own experiences by telling you about the story and the characters, since this is a movies thas has to take you by surprise to be fully enjoyed.Although I liked all of director Julio Medem's films, I'm willing to bet my last dime that he could never outdo this; he's already done the picture he was born to.
The only filmmaker I can think of that has explored the same realms as Medem was when he did Vacas, is the great Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky, although Medem's film works on a much stronger, more emotional and less intellectual, level.10/10 and actually deserving it.
Since 'Los Amantes del Círculo Polar' (1998), Julio Medem has been in my good books.
This is one of his earlier masterpiece and I think this is one of the most powerful European movie in the 1990s, but very underrated, maybe because the Basque region (where the film sets) is not very popular nowadays.
But if you watch this film, you will realize that those people are just like us with human feelings (fear, love, courage) and you will tolerate them.
The only thing to do is to look into their eyes and you will understand that these people have been suffer and fight for freedom for centuries.
Julio Medem is the most sophisticated and most sensitive contemporary Spanish director and in lot of aspects his works are much better than Almodóvar's and Saura's films because his style is cleared-out.
This film is only 91 minutes long but it covers the story of two rival families from 1875 till 1936 so the story is very tense.
Medem says the entity.
The cinematography and the music are also superb it's full of surprising cinematographical solutions, like in the 'Los Amantes...'.Check this film, you won't be disappointed and you will find a real treasure and become a fan of Julio Medem.
Using Red Beret,Iris, Same Actor In Different Roles, Creates Continuity Thru Time.
The 4 episodes that make up Medem,s interesting debut film are linked by several devices that create a sense of continuity through different times in 19th and 20th century Spanish history.One device is the red Beret,an emblem of the soldiers in the Second Carlist War in 1875 who supported the traditions of in this case the northern Basque part of the country near France against the Liberals; we see that beret again in the last part,now worn by the Nationalist supporters of Franco.Another device is the iris,both as a Cinematic optical transition and as a part of a still camera that characters are frequently looking into as they take pictures.(a main character,the boy Peru,will grow up to become a newspaper photographer in America.) Also the use of the same actor in different episodes,such as the aging grandfather or several roles played by the same performer,add to this sense that things have not really changed that much over 60 years in this little part of the country.Which is not your typical image of Spain.Biscay (Vizcaya) is a lush green valley with mysterious forests nearby,full of thick wood waiting to be cut up (a source of rivalry between two families) and the sudden appearance of the animals that give the movie its title.All of these strategies kept my interest in this story of lingering connections..
one of the best introductions for"narrow"non-American movies.
The first scene in this film is outstanding, it makes you hold your breath and keep doing that until the end of the movie, but you can never put your finger on  why it is like that.
The actors are really great and Medems directions are superb.
If you have got any friends you like to introduce "narrow" non-American movies for, I think this is the best movie to start with.
Unfortunately it is not as effective on video as on the big screen, but it is still worth a look..
The movie is as artistic as it can be.
Vacas has covered a large time span with several characters sentimentally interacting in a beautiful way.
However you will feel slight change of the original theme that is the romanticism of human evil and the persistently tranquil surroundings of the human.The movie shows how important kinship is in social ego and how unimportant it becomes when it comes to fantasy and acceptability.
How the social ties can still forget the profound reasons of its weakness and strength and becomes subject to change due to the most innocent feeling which is love.Although it is not a five star movie but once you start watching it you will follow it till the very end.
Don't watch it if Indiana Jones is your favorite movie.with respect, jawaid.
A very extraordinary and good movie!.
This was in matters of camera, cut, sound-effects  and everything else very extraordinary.
The acting is very good.
An Esoteric Movie....
U must have the complete knowledge of Spanish history to understand this movie...
Me Being non Spanish couldn't understand the movie completely....
It is a movie from the director who has made the " Most Erotic movie ever made- Sex & Lucia"...
The movie shows 3 generation in 2 families n their rivalry...
But I didn't understand how the movie gets its name from this concept?
So Its only for great brains n not for people who just watch movies to enjoy n kill time...
n especially not for those who do not have knowledge of the Spanish history....
There is lot tat director tells symbolically which only certain class of people can understand...
This is perhaps the most important function of film.The choices are quite a few, and range all over the place.
It is a mix of intelligent exploration of self-reference and being; the tidal forces of fate and emotion and both set in the play we call sex.
It is at once more abstract and human.Tarkovsky has some of the same screen grammar but in his case the characters live in a heavy world, and the gravity of the thing hangs like fog from which we can distill the abstractions we ponder.
Same eye, just a different place.Almodovar can create more striking images and situations at times, but one gets the impression that he discovers as he goes instead of seeing the whole landscape before he starts.
This is not Medem's best work, but it is worth watching.In this case, we have looking as a connection: the lovers and cows watching, the painting, the photographing, the fluid histories, the letters.
And we have the severing: the logs, the political schisms, the feuds.The young girl is remarkable.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.