“I always imagined this moment.” Amidst the bodies of dead fish succumbing to pollution caused by deadly chemicals from a nearby factory rises Magdalena. Magdalena (Mía Maestro), long-deceased, brings with her not only the shock of resurrection, but old wounds and a litany of family secrets, setting the stage for “The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future,” the feature-length debut from young Chilean director Francisca Alegría. Magdalena’s chilling return, a feat as divine as it is haunting, sends her widowed husband into a tailspin, prompting their daughter, Cecilia (Leonor Varela), to return to their family-owned dairy farm with her children.
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Combining prescient topics like climate collapse, inter-generational trauma, and queerness, Alegría picks up where she left off with her Sundance-winning short film, “And the Whole Sky Fit in the Dead Cow’s Eye.” The film also boasts an impressive ensemble cast, which includes Maestro (“Frida” and “The Motorcycle Diaries”), Varela (“Blade II”), Alfredo Castro, and newcomer Enzo Ferrada Rosati. With its mournful and surreal underpinnings, “The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future” promises to lure audiences in and not let go, embracing them much in the same a way a loved one would.
“The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future” opens May 19 at the Quad Cinema in New York City and May 26 at the Landmark Nuart in Los Angeles courtesy of Kino Lorber, with a national rollout to follow. Watch a trailer for the film below.