A landmark film in Iranian cinema, Mehrjui’s THE COW gained international acclaim when it won the Critics Prize at the Venice Film Festival and caught the eye of Ayatollah Khomeini, whose admiration and encouragement of the film ushered in the New Wave of Iranian cinema. In rural Iran, the death of his beloved cow drives the villager Hassan into madness. A visionary exploration of grief, THE COW is an allegorical portrait of poverty and mortality.