First Cow

Description

American guitarist William Tyler composed the music for First Cow, the new A24 film directed by Kelly Reichardt, using almost exclusively his few guitars and a dulcimer. At the crossroads of stripped-down, meditative melodies and avant-garde experiments close to ambient, the music, like the film, brilliantly moves between accessibility and artistic rigor. In First Cow, Kelly Reichardt once again casts her keen and attentive eye on the Pacific Northwest, this time evoking a world in the early 19th century that is extremely harsh. A taciturn lone man and fine cook, John Magaro, has traveled West and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon Territory, though he finds a true connection only with a Chinese immigrant, Orion Lee, also seeking his fortune. Very quickly, the two collaborate in a thriving business, though its longevity depends on the clandestine involvement of the precious dairy cow of a wealthy local landowner. Reichardt once again displays her unique talent for portraying the rhythms specific to everyday life and her ability to capture the immense and unsettling stillness of rural America.