A simple western about the origin of the American Dream.
In the 1820s, a taciturn loner and skilled cook travels west to Oregon Territory, where he meets a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. Soon the two team up on a dangerous scheme to steal milk from the wealthy landowner’s prized Jersey cow – the first, and only, in the territory.
For sure not a Hollywood film. This film is a beautifully executed character study about friendship.
CinemaSerf
7|Mar 28, 2022
This is a gently comedic story of a couple of pioneering Oregon frontiersmen. Cook-cum-baker John Magaro ("Cookie") who falls in with the entrepreneurial "King-Lu" (Orion Lee). The pair quickly realise that there is a decent amount of money to be made by indulging the sweet teeth of their fellow hardy companions - and when they discover that the local headman has had a cow delivered - the only one for miles - a clandestine business that involves purloining the milk from said cow to enhance their cakes offers riches, but some risk too - the factor (Toby Jones) is unaware that his is, technically, the manna from which these delicious sweets are being made. What follows is a little bit predictable, but nonetheless enjoyable to watch as they try to stay one step ahead of their increasingly cognisant boss. Director Kelly Reichardt takes her time to introduce us to the pair, and to let the story develop gently and entertainingly whilst still offering us a plausible glimpse of the harsh and tough living conditions experienced by these folks in search of everything from gold to land to, well, milk! It's got quite a pleasingly complementary score from William Tyler and is certainly worth a watch - though it doesn't need to be on a big screen.
