Admission: I’m never quite sure what to make of Chinese comedies. The few I’ve seen I haven’t particularly liked, mostly because it feels like I’m missing some big chunk of the equation, but when a film comes as highly praised and with a story as goofy sounding as that of Cow, I had to give it a chance.

My mind hasn’t been changed on Chinese comedies but Guan Hu’s film makes a great attempt at changing my mind. The story begins in World War II. Niu Er wakes up in the middle of the village, disoriented and apparently alone. While searching the village and confirming that he is, in fact, he hears a muffled cry. He continues searching and eventually comes upon Cow, a European import which was donated to the army (to feed the wounded) and which had been entrusted to the villagers to tend to until it was needed again. It’s at this point in the film that the story really starts to move along, incorporating flashbacks to fill in the story of how the village came to be abandoned while also moving the story along in the present day, putting Niu Er and the Cow through a series of ordeals.

There’s much to love about Hu’s film. Aside from gorgeous cinematography which looks epic but feels right within the intimate confines of the story being told, there’s a wonderful performance from Huang Bo (currently China’s version of George Clooney; on the popularity scale at least). And then there’s Cow. I never thought I’d see the day when a cow would be headlining a film but here it is. Between the story, Bo’s performance and the script, the cow really does feel like a character.

With the great performance, music and design, it’s also worth nothing the film’s script. It would have been easy for the mix of flashbacks and current happenings to confuse the audience but Hu seamlessly switches between the two, never leaving the audience behind.

Cow is not for the minimalist film fan. Everything about the film is larger than life, from drama to the comedy. This is a farce, a dramedy which incorporates everything from body humour to overacting and it works. In any other film, a touching moment between a cow and a man, complete with sorrowful music, would raise eyebrows but it fits perfectly in Hu’s film.

Though I didn’t laugh as much as I’d hoped to, the largely Asian crowd did laugh a little more than I did which further supports my speculation that I’m missing some key part of the cultural knowledge but I never felt bored or put out by Cow. It’s a tremendously entertaining film and one I would hole heartedly recommend.

See VIFF screening schedule for show times.