The Cow (1989)

Aleksandr Petrov again works wonders with his animating skills and his imagination. A young boy narrates to us the story of his life with the family's cow. They are a poor family, living hand to mouth and the animal is their lifeline. It provides the milk, it pulls the plough and when it has a calf, that is sold to put food on the table. The young lad's affection for the beast is palpable and the story unfolds we see how crucial it has been in his growing up - providing an element of stability through the times of uncertainty. There is something a little Dickensian about the style of drawing here, the brush-strokes giving it a grainy and earthy, authentic, look that reflects powerfully the basic subsistence lifestyle his family led, more probably endured. Much of this could be a collection of portraits, and those marry well for ten minutes of touching drama.