With traditional moviegoing still on hold as people avoid large gatherings in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, more films are arriving on streaming services. On Thursday, movie lovers can catch an early video on demand screening of director Kelly Reichardt’s excellent Oregon-filmed movie, “First Cow,” while also supporting the Northwest Film Center and the Portland Art Museum.
“First Cow” begins streaming via video on demand on Friday. But beginning at 7 p.m. PT Thursday, July 9, the movie can be rented and streamed early, thanks to a partnership between the film’s distributor, A24 and the Northwest Film Center. Go to the website https://nwfc.pam.org/first-cow/ for information on how to rent the film at a reduced price of $9.99. A pre-taped Q&A with Reichardt is included.
This chance to see “First Cow” is especially meaningful for Portlanders, because “First Cow” was scheduled to make its local debut as part of the Portland International Film Festival, on March 13. The feature was then scheduled to begin a commercial run at Northwest Portland’s Cinema 21 on March 20.
Related: Director Kelly Reichardt on ‘First Cow,' and why she makes films in Oregon
Though there’s no substitute for seeing a movie on the big screen in a cinema, “First Cow” is well worth watching. Inspired by Portland-based writer Jonathan Raymond’s novel, “The Half-Life,” “First Cow” is the most recent collaboration between Raymond and Reichardt, following such Oregon-filmed works as “Old Joy” (2006), “Wendy and Lucy” (2008), “Meek’s Cutoff” (2010) and “Night Moves” (2013).
Notable for Reichardt’s characteristic understatement and subtlety, “First Cow” is a touching, low-key story about the unlikely friendship of two men in the early nineteenth-century Oregon territory. With a feel for the natural world and the everyday struggle for survival, “First Cow” traces the partnership between Cookie (John Magaro), and King Lu (Orion Lee), men from hardscrabble backgrounds who sneak milk from the cow of an affluent landowner as part of an attempt to make money.
When it opened in theaters, “First Cow” earned glowing critical response, including a New York Times review that called the film a “masterpiece.”
In an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive earlier this year, Reichardt talked about why she likes to make films in Oregon, and how she ultimately decided to move to Portland herself. The director credited her work with Raymond as playing a role, saying she and Raymond share a “similar sensibility.”
“His stories have a lot of room in them, so I can get into them and extend, and build some of the smaller characters, and add things that I want to add,” Reichardt said. “It’s just the nicest collaboration.”
More of our coverage:
- 29 Oregon-filmed movies and TV shows to watch when you’re home because of the coronavirus
- 25 best movies filmed in Oregon
-- Kristi Turnquist
kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist
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