One Man and His Cow

Do not hesitate to watch it, it's well worth it. Funny, interesting feel good movie with an unusual and original plot. .

This here is not a complacent review out to be over-enthusiastic about the Algerian-French phenomenon, but rather one that looks at the genuine quality of this very refreshing, honest, solidly crafted and well inspired contemporary comedy.

The plot is simple, and it's the adventure in the various places it takes the lead 'Fatah', the journey including the different people, sensitivities and emotions he discovers, the Algeria vs France contradictions and intrinsic antagonisms, and ultimately, his epiphany while being away from home in discovering more about himself from a newer perspective.

The film overall is very well crafted, perfectly coherent and follows a very good rhythm. The jokes are good, the humor is lively and very culturally-charged and finally there are many little references/remarks/hints with implication and symbol that require a particular wit in understanding carefully laid throughout the playtime.

"La Vache" is the story of Fatah, an Algerian farmer whose dream is to participate in the Paris International Agriculture Fair with his Tarentaise cow called Jacqueline.All his friends and neighbours are making jokes about this dream.But one day he receives the official invitation for his participation.After some debates the elders and friends of the village will help him for the costs of traveling to Paris.Then begins the real adventure of Fatah and Jacqueline !! As they have time enough they will join Paris on foot.Some incidents (a night in a karaoke, drinking pear liquor,a photograph of a kiss, an arrest) but also nice encounters , his stay in the house of the count, the love letter, the friendship and the solidarity of the people. And another important thing: the media, Fatha and Jacqueline begin to be famous on TV and YouTube: many people are waiting for them in Paris. I shall not escribe the end of the film. It's a story about encounters, about tolerance, friendship and solidarity. But it's also a story with quite a lot of humour and humanity: the philosophical talk of Fatah and the count about the life,the problems (Algeria should be champion of the world of the countries with problems) and the love (the first declaration of love for Naïma). I didn't know Fatsah Bouyahmed before this film, but it's a very good comedian. I enjoyed very much this story.

La Vache is a French comedy describing Fatah, an Algerian peasant from an obscure village, whose dream is to take his beloved cow Jacqueline to the Paris agricultural fair and competition. With the help of his fellow villagers, Jacqeline and Fatah cross the Mediterranean and start walking across France to Paris. Fatah meets many good people who help him and love his good humor and innocence, while he becomes a TV and Web celebrity and his progress is watched by millions in France, and also by his native village. Will he make the competition? Will Jacqueline win? You'll have to watch the movie to find out. I had a few laughs and enjoyed Fatsah Bouyahmed acting Fatah, but for the most of it one gets the feeling that one has seen this movie many times. In a nutshell it is blow-by-blow a parallel to The World Fastest Indian. Both heroes cross the sea (or the ocean) to get their beloved possession (the cow Jacqeline or the antique Indian motorcycle) for a world- class competition, both get financially helped by their compatriots, both meet with sometimes serious and often funny obstacles, both encounter romantic possibilities, both have to get to the competition at the last minute (and are denied entrance). Morevoer, both heroes project good humor, perseverance, and their non-blase naivete presents simple wisdom that puts the convoluted and frantic West way of life to true test. Despite these superficial similarities, The World Wld Fastest Indian is an intelligent, refined and meaningful humorous drama, while La Vache is Junior High level slapstick. Although Bouyahmed is endearing, he is a far shot from Anthony Hopkins. And last, but far from least, Jacqueline is just a cow (and not terribly attractive at that), whereas the Indian bike has a soul. As for photography, Fatah and his Cow walking through French cities is far from the beautiful, lyrical night scene of Vittorio De Sica walking his elephant through empty Rome in Hello Elephant. A harmless small movie, OK for early teens and those that would like to go back to that age.

I was ready for this to be goofy and weird but it was actually a really well made movie with interesting characters and dialogue that i laughed out loud over. I wish there were more movies like this.