Parky At the Pictures (11/4/2025)

(Reviews of Holy Cow; Brief History of a Family; and The King of Kings)

HOLY COW.

Almost a quarter of a century has passed since Christian Carion had Mathilde Seigner buy a property in the French Alps and learn the secrets of making goat's cheese from tetchy farmer Michel Serrault in The Girl From Paris (2001). So, it's high time that audiences were treated to another film about fromage and Louise Courvoisier has duly obliged with Holy Cow, which is set in the Jura region on the Franco-Swiss border, where the writer-director grew up.

First seen baring his behind at the beer tent at a country show in Pimorin, 18 year-old Totone (Clément Faveau) fails to rise to the occasion during a one-night stand and sleeps it off on a bench. At dusk, he's woken and given a lift back to the farm where he lives with his father and seven year-old sister, Claire (Luna Garret). Rather than work, he prefers to hang out with pals Jean-Yves (Mathis Bernard) and Francis (Dimitri Baudry), the former of whom is forever tinkering with his souped-up stock car in preparation for an upcoming race.

The friends are fleeing on their motorbikes after Totone causes a fight at an outdoor disco, when they come across his father's crashed car on a dark country road. He had been sloshed at the dance and Totone had sent him home to sleep it off. Suddenly, he's alone and has to take care of Claire, who seems more mature than he does.

Needing work, he takes a job cleaning vats at the cheese plant where he bumps into his disco foe, Cyril (Armand Sancey Richard), who gives him a good kicking with his brother, Pierrick (Lucas Marillier). Having got hammered the night before his first run driving the milk tanker, Totone is hungover and gets told off by Cyril's sister, Marie-Lise (Maïwène Barthélemy), when he fails to tighten a nozzle when collecting from her dairy farm. However, she feels sorry for him when he gets fired for brawling with Cyril and offers him a life home on her tractor.

Claire isn't surprised that her brother has been sacked and he confides in Jean-Yves that he's in trouble. However, he has overheard that there is €30,000 to be won in a forthcoming cheese-making competition and he decides to make a Comté using his father's old equipment. Selflessly, Jean-Yves trades his car to help Totone recover his father's tractor and he and Francis agree to help him steal milk from Marie-Lise after he starts flirting with her to create a distraction and get the keys to her milk store.

When he makes a mess of the first attempt to heat the milk, Totone has to return to see Marie-Lise in her milking shed. He had enjoyed their oral encounter the previous evening and has started to feel drawn to her. However, he has to scarper when her brothers arrive and joins his pals and sister at a cheese-making demonstration at which he learns about rennet and the method of bagging the curds from the hot cauldron.

Despite erecting a winch back at the farm, Totone finds the liquid too hot and he drops the cloth before he can scoop the curds. Needing more milk, he pays Marie-Lise another visit. One of her cows is calving and he has to sit with her in the shed into the small hours. He offers to keep watch while she sleeps so he can grab the keys. But her brothers catch Claire and his mates in the act and Totone is too busy helping deliver the calf to warn them. Furious at being left in the lurch, Jean-Yves attacks Totone, who is ordered to leave by Marie-Lise after he confesses what's been going on.

Totone is all for giving up. But Claire insists they spend Sunday using the last of the milk to try again. This time, everything goes right and they place the curds in a mould to make a Comté cheese. However, they have to be officially registered to enter the competition and Totone leaves the round in the calf's pen at Marie-Lise's farm. He's serious about becoming a fromagère, however, and visits the exhibition woman to see if she needs an assistant.

On the day of Jean-Yves's big race, Totone and Claire join the crowd and he spots Marie-Lise with her brothers. When Jean-Yves flips his car, Totone runs across the track to help him cool down the over-heating engine (even though he's told to shove off). As he performed so many spins, Jean-Yves is declared the winner and Claire rushes to join him on the podium. As he leaves, Totone hears Marie-Lise calling him and they exchange smiles across the car park after she lifts up her top.

Rooted in the tradition of Georges Rouquier's Farrebique (1946), this charming feature also contains echoes of Raymond Depardon's documentary trilogy - Profils paysans: l'approche (2001), Profils paysans: le quotidien (2005), and Profils paysans: la vie moderne (2008). It was nominated for four Césars, with Louise Courvoisier winning Best First Film and Maïwene Barthelemy being named Best Female Revelation. She is excellent, but first-timer Clément Faveau might also have taken the equivalent male award.

Vacillating between feckless slacker and doting brother, Totone just about manages to hold on to the family farm, although it seems odd, given Claire's age and his bad reputation with the neighbours, that he doesn't get a call from social services. You can bet your bottom dollar he would do in a Ken Loach film! Here, he learns that charging like a bull at a gate is rarely the best tactic, especially when it comes to cheese and women.

While Courvoisier is keen to depict the realities of rural life and how young people spend their time, she avoids the kind of hectoring moralising that has become the blight of British social realism. Nothing is exaggerated for effect and there are no melodramatic twists to enable political points to be scored. Even stock car metaphors feel deft, as Courvoisier tells a simple, plausible story with insight, wit, and finesse. She's considerably aided by her excellent cast (especially when it comes to exploring male friendship) and by a lovely score composed by her brother, Charles, and, mother Linda.

Cinematographer Elio Balézeaux also makes a valuable contribution in both capturing the sunlight on the Jura countryside and locating the characters on the land that is proving increasingly difficult for smallholders to farm in the age of Big Ag. The closing flash and smile imply that everything will work out for the best. But, as most viewers will already know, that's not always the way the cheese crumbles, especially when it's yet to mature.

BRIEF HISTORY OF A FAMILY.

One of the more striking aspects of Feng Xiaogang's I Am Not Madame Bovary (2016) was its use of a circular framing device. In making his directorial debut, Jianjie Lin, who took a degree in bioinformatics before working as a geneticist, uses the same motif to suggest that the characters are being examined under a microscope in Brief History of a Family, which imparts a new spin on the cuckoo in the nest scenario that has been much imitated since Pier Paolo Pasolini's Theorem made it so audaciously fashionable back in 1968.

Feeling guilty after knocking Yan Shuo (Sun Xilun) off a pull-up bar with a basketball, Tu Wei (Lin Muran) invites him home to play video games. Pleased to see their son with a friend, Mr Tu (Zu Feng) and Mrs Tu (Guo Keyu) invite him to stay for supper. They are taken aback when he douses his rice with soy sauce and feel sorry for the motherless boy when he has to leave because his father is drunk again. As Wei is something of a slacker who would rather fence than study, his parents (he's a biologist, she's a former flight attendant) wish he was more like Shuo, who spends his time reading.

Aware that Wei resents the fact that his parents have taken a shine to him, Shuo keeps accepting dinner invitations. He chats to Mrs Tu about favourite fruits and looks at her photograph albums, while he talks to Mr Chu about Bach, which he plays in his study when his wife is listening to a meditation tape in the next room. Shuo pauses in the corridor to listen to the instructor and the piano music before lying on the Tus' bed.

Mrs Tu fusses over Shuo when he comes to the apartment after being beaten by his father. She invites him to stay over and he picks Wei's favourite pyjamas. Mr Tu signs up Wei for an English class so he can study abroad, as he is concerned that he will fritter away his start in life if he keeps focussing on fencing. However, a trial for the city team goes badly and Wei is more frustrated than ever that his parents seem more interested in Shuo than him.

Shortly after the pair duel with umbrellas, Shuo's father is killed in a drunken accident after locking his son in his room for betraying the family by spending time with the Tus. Mrs Tu thinks they should offer him a home, as she resents being forced to have an abortion during the time of China's one-child policy and her husband reluctantly agrees, as he feels guilty about her ordeal.

While Mrs Tu enjoys taking Shuo shopping and having him help out in the kitchen, Mr Tu uses his studious example to browbeat Wei. He glares at Shuo after a fish bone gets caught in his throat at supper, as he had helped prepare the dish. At bedtime, they have an on/off dispute over the night light and later come to blows with Wei pinning Shuo on the bed to impose his superiority. Yet Shuo keeps going to the English classes on Wei's behalf so he can go fencing. When Mr Tu finds out, he is furious. But Shuo asks if there is anything wrong in seeking to better oneself and claims he considers the biologist to be his role model. Mollified, Mr Tu reveals that he had no parents and started listening to classical music so he could feel superior to his classmates, who were all into pop.

As we see microscope slides of the ACE2 enzyme burrowing its way into a cell, Wei ducks out of a weekend away so he can fence. Shuo goes instead and the Tus pretend he's their son at the hotel. They are staying with old friends and Mr Ma (Wang Shi) proudly breaks the news that his wife (Zhu Zhu) is pregnant, now that the one-child policy has been relaxed. She asks why Mrs Tu doesn't try for another child, but she dodges the question. When Mr Tu asks why Shuo took so many identical pictures of her, she explains that each one is subtly different because he considers photography to be a craft as well as an art.

Next morning, the couple gets into a panic when Shuo isn't in his room and they search the woods in the mist. He sends Wei a picture of him posing with his parents and they return to break the news that they have decided to adopts Shuo and send him to an Ivy League university in the United States. Wei announces he has made the city fencing team and the other three congratulate him. But he feels undervalued and reminds his mother that she had almost died when he was born.

After watching Shuo stand over a dying fish from the hall tank, Wei goes to the police to ask them to check again about Shuo's father's death, as he thinks he's capable of murder in order to inveigle himself into the family. Nothing is done. But, shortly after Wei endures his parents singing for Shuo on his birthday, he winds up in hospital and the Tus have to ask Shuo to leave.

Despite having said he never wears white, Shuo visits Wei in hospital in a white hoodie, with white trousers. The camera follows, as he leaves the building and suddenly disappears from view behind a pillar. Wei comes home and the family eats in silence at the dinner table. Struggling to keep up during an English class, Wei lowers his eyes before looking up to stare into the lens.

Using the lottery of birth to offer an intriguing critique of China's one-child policy, this is a skilfully controlled film that feels as though it's manipulating the audience to interpret events in a particular way before it pulls the rug and upends impressions and expectations. It's a shame, therefore, that Lin Jianjie over-reaches in the closing scenes by ramping up the ambiguity that has coursed through the action in an effort to end on a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Regardless of any frustration generated by the denouement, this is a tautly told tale whose shifts of emphasis are as witty as they are suspenseful. Who exactly is exploiting who, as Shuo uses entirely unsubstantiated claims to elicit the sympathy of Mr & Mrs Tu, who view the interloper as a second chance to make a success of parenting after Wei has followed his own path rather than their suggestions. Of course, Wei could have chosen the seemingly docile Shuo as a surrogate for his parents to soften the blow of his dereliction of duty, only to lose control of his creation.

But Lin also uses the narrative to satirise the nouveau riche mindset and is excellently served by production designer Xu Yao, who fills the apartment with items betokening the affluence that Shuo covets and Wei takes for granted. They are played with contrasting impassivity by Sun Xilun and Lin Muran. Indeed, only Guo Keyu (returning to cinema after a decade away) is permitted any tangible displays of emotion, as all around her withhold feelings and leave things unsaid (outside the odd barbed aside).

Although he indulges in the odd eccentric camera angle, Zhang Jiahao's cinematography is as deftly effective as Per K. Kirkegaard's measured editing, Margot Testemale and Jacques Pedersen's sometimes unsettling sound design, and the occasional sense of foreboding in Toke Brorson Odin's score (which is artfully complemented by snatches from Bach's `The Well-Tempered Clavier'). As for Lin, he directs with a rapier precision that is rare for a first-timer. He might overdo the microscope shots (particularly as Mr Tu's profession is only mentioned in passing), but he sustains mood well and makes incisive use of the various modern buildings that comment on China's most recent leap forward. His script, however. lets him down in the final strait.

THE KING OF KINGS.

Charles Dickens wrote The Life of Our Lord in the late 1840s. It was never intended for publication, as he had devised it to teach his children about the gospel stories. He read it aloud each Christmas until his death in 1870. When the last surviving son, Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, passed on in 1933, the family voted on his suggestion that the manuscript should be shared with the public and book versions started appearing after the text had been serialised in various newspapers in Britain and America.

Eight decades later, Angel Studios have acquired the rights and entrusted them to debuting South Korean director, Jang Seong-ho. He has amassed over 90 credits as a visual effects specialist, with ParkChan-wook's Joint Security Area (2000) and Sympathy For Mr Vengeance (2002), Jeong Jae-eun's Take Care of My Cat (2001), Jang Joon-hwan's Save the Green Planet! (2003), and Im Sang-soo's The Housemaid (2010) among his best-known titles.

Angel purports to purvey `Godly movies the whole family can enjoy,' although the likes of Alejandro Monteverde's Cabrini and Joshua Weigel's Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot (both 2024) have only reached relatively small audiences in this country. They clearly have higher hopes for The King of Kings, however, as not only does it bear the Dickens imprimatur, but this animated feature also boasts a stellar voice cast for the scenes set in both Victorian London and Roman-occupied Judea.

Having caused chaos at his father's theatre reading of A Christmas Carol, young Walter Dickens (Roman Griffin Davis) and his grey cat, Willa (Dee Bradley Baker), are sent home in disgrace. Charles (Kenneth Branagh) is furious because the pair burst on to the stage proclaiming themselves to be King Arthur and a knight of the Round Table. However, in picking up the scattered pages of his latest manuscript, wife Catherine (Uma Thurman) suggests that her husband tells their son the story of a king whose power continues to surpass that of Arthur.

Sitting in his London study, Dickens begins to describe the Nativity, the visit of the Magi, and the attempt by King Herod (Mark Hamill) to kill all the male children under the age of two in the town of Bethlehem. Walter gets so engrossed by the tale that he imagines himself and Willa in both the stable and Herod's palace, and is hugely relieved when Gaspar (Mick Wingert), Balthazar (Imari Williams), and Melchior (James Arnold Taylor) return home without betraying the whereabouts of Mary (Thurman), Joseph (Branagh), and the Baby Jesus, who have been warned by an angel to escape into Egypt.

Despite Walter still hoping for a dragon to be slain by the new king, Dickens takes him through the young Jesus getting lost in the Temple during Passover (with a flashback to explain the origin of the term) and the coming of John the Baptist (Branagh). Arguing that Satan is much scarier than a dragon, he explains how Jesus (Oscar Isaac) withstood his temptation in the desert during a 40-day fast using only the Word of God rather than violence or magic.

With the Apostles having been duly selected, Jesus begins His ministry (although we aren't made privy to a single parable). He helps Peter (Forest Whitaker) land a bumper catch, cures the blind man, and drives a demon out of a tormented man into a herd of pigs. Walter is thrilled that the story is spicing up, but Dickens reminds him that these miracles were performed to demonstrate the power of faith and not to show that Jesus was a king.

Livid that Jesus cures a paralysed man lowered through a roof by forgiving his sins, the Pharisees complain to Caiaphas the High Priest (Ben Kingsley) that he was blaspheming. However, his plan to expose Jesus backfires when He invites those without sin to follow the Law of Moses and cast the first stone against a woman taken in adultery. Dickens stresses that no swords were used to save the woman and he continues to extol the power of his words by taking a biscuit-chomping Walter to witness the feeding of the five thousand and the calming of the storm.

The boy is puzzled why Jesus followed walking on the water by confiding in His followers that He would be put to death in Jerusalem. But Dickens reminds him that He also said that He would rise after three days and gave a demonstration of His power over death when He resurrected Lazarus. In gratitude, his sister Mary washes Jesus's feet and dries them with her hair, much to the annoyance of Judas Iscariot (Jamie Thomason) - who always brings a hiss from Willa - who says the ointment should have been sold to help the poor. But Jesus claims she has helped prepare Him for his own burial and points out that there will be plentiful opportunities to tend to the poor, while He won't always be with them.

Determined to remove Jesus before the Romans get wind of what's going on, Caiaphas reassures Pharisees Eleazar (Fred Tatasciore), Hilliel (Jim Cummings), and Mahaliell (Mick Wingert) that he has devised a plan to make Him unpopular with the people. But there's seemingly little chance of that as Jesus rides into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday with a throng singing anthems. The High Priest spots his chance, however, when Jesus drives the money-lenders out of the Temple because His Father's house should be a place of prayer rather than a den of thieves.

Walter and Willa witness the Last Supper and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. But the boy is puzzled by why Jesus should sacrifice Himself to take away the sins of the world. So, Dickens plucks a book from his shelf to tell him about the fall of Adam and Eve before letting the boy watch Jesus admonish His disciples for dozing off when they were supposed to be watching with Him. He also sees Peter being warned about his three denials before Jesus is dragged before Caiaphas and accused of claiming to be the Son of God.

As he demands the death penalty, Caiaphas knows he will need the approval of the Roman prefect, Pontius Pilate (Pierce Brosnan), and he sends Him for judgement. Finding Jesus guilty of no crime, Pilate tries to release Him. But the crowd call for Barabbas to be freed instead and Pilate washes his hands as his prisoner is led away for crucifixion. Stumbling three times on the route to Calvary, Jesus endures being nailed to the cross. Walter and Willa watch in tearful dismay, as the thieves either side of Him argue about His divinity. Jesus forgives those persecuting Him before commending his spirit to His Father and breathing His last.

With Mary looking on, the earth trembles as darkness falls and there is shock in the Temple as the veil is torn down the middle. Distraught, Walter looks up at the wooden cross, as the screen goes dark. He's next seen beside the empty tomb and has his face stroked by Jesus, as He walks away having conquered death. So excited by this triumph of the greatest of all kings, Walter rushes off to wake his siblings to tell them all about it. Dickens takes down the `keep out' sign from his study door, places Willa down to sleep on his desk, and hugs Catherine for helping him share such a peerless tale with his son.

During the credits, a special message is trailed and it's hard to describe how nauseating it is. Not only do several American kids gush on cue about how great the film was, but they also tell viewers to use their phones to scan the QR code on the screen in order to buy tickets for others to see it and receive three free gifts in return. Word of mouth has always been crucial to spreading the Christian message, but there are limits - especially so soon after a crawl power ballad has rhymed `miracle' with `cynical'.

It's a shame the film ends on such a sour note, as, for all its omissions, simplifications, and sentimentalisation, it also has its inspirational moments. It's far too long, largely because the prologue takes an age to establish the rather specious need for Dickens to prove to his younger son that Jesus is more kingly than Arthur. But Jang's script finds rather neat ways to get Walter and Willa into the story so that smaller viewers can identify with their awestruck and often emotional involvement in Jesus's progress from carpenter to Messiah.

There are misjudgements, including the moment that Walter mistakes his father for Jesus after Willa goes missing on Palm Sunday. The scene in which Walter calls for Jesus to be released instead of Barabbas also rather unfortunately recalls the parodic version of the encounter with Pilate in Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979). At other times, the dialogue appears to echoing Tim Rice's lyrics for Jesus Christ Supertstar. Walter's attempt to give Jesus water en route to Calvary also feels cumbersome, as does his replacing Peter in being plucked from the storm-tossed waves during the miracle montage that follows the Crucifixion.

The Judean backdrops are well realised, while some of the lighting effects are atmospherically effective. But the character design is markedly less impressive, with Jesus's elongated neck and the caricatured noses of the Apostles and the Pharisees being particularly regrettable. Jesus, of course, is an American. Yet, for the most part, the voicework is fine, although the clash of accents can be slightly off-putting, especially within the Dickens household. Nevertheless, credit should go to Roman Griffin Davis (of Jojo Rabbit fame) for conveying Walter's shifting emotions, as he undergoes a single-night epiphany akin to that of Ebenezer Scrooge.