Director: Louise Courvoisier

Stars: Clément Faveau, Luna Garret, Maïwène Barthélemy, Mathis Bernard, Dimitri Baudry

Writer-director Louise Courvoisier’s feature debut is an appealing coming-of-age tale set in rural France.

Totone (Faveau) is an eighteen-year-old who spends his days hanging out with this friends Jean Yves (Bernard) and Francis (Baudry), drinking and occasionally brawling with the young men from the neighbouring village.  After his father is killed in a driving accident, Totone is left to look after his younger sister Claire (Garret, adorable).

Totone loses his job at a local cheese dairy after he gets into a scrap with a coworker, but the sister of another co-worker, the wily Marie-Lise (Barthélemy), a young woman who also lost her parents, and is now running her parents dairy farm solo, takes a shine towards him and they start seeing each other. Inspired by the high-quality milk Marie -Lise’s farm provides, Totone decides to have a crack at running his late father’s dairy, making the celebrated local Comté cheese. However, this involves short cuts and subterfuges.

Faveau’s Totone is a gawky, ruddy-faced ruddy hero to root for, as the former slacker steps up to the various challenges he is presented with, while maintaining his cheeky irreverent manner. His relationship with the no-nonsense Marie-Lise is charmingly realised, particularly a moment of truth between the two as Totone is helps her deliver a calf.

Cinematographer Elio Balézeaux’s lovely rendering of the bucolic environs adds to the picture’s feel-good charm, and Courvoisier concludes with an uplifting demonstration of solidarity, capped off with a lovely moment of saucy affirmation.

Holy Cow is released 11th April.

David Willoughby

Follow David on Bluesky: @davidwilloughby.bsky.social