his name is enough for define the film. because his animations are, always, fascinating oasis , delicate miracles, admirable example of precise art. in this case, all is the same. the atmosphere, the touching story, the flavor of childhood, the realism who becomes a fairy tale, the grace of colors, the sand on glass who change yourself. because it is more than a beautiful film. it is a precious adventure. portrait of humanity, subtle reflection of unique states of soul, beautiful definition of the importance of small things. and a wonderful trip across the early memories of each viewer.

This is a short done by Aleksandr Petrov, done by painting directly on glass. There will be spoilers ahead:This short, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated short, losing to Balance, is an early short by Aleksandr Petrov. The story concerns a poor farming family and their son's remembrance of the family's cow.The cow gives birth to a calf at the start of the short (I love how the mother gets the calf to drink milk from a pail). The calf grows, but must be sold early due to the family's poverty. The cow grows discontent, balking at pulling the plow in the fields.The boy tries to console the cow, encouraging her to forget her calf and think of him as her son now. One day, the cow breaks free and runs off. Here, the short becomes dream-like, with part of it a flight of fancy in the boy's imagination and part of it all too grim reality, as the family loses their cow to tragedy.The short closes with the boy remembering the cow and everything it gave (literally and figuratively). It's absolutely beautiful visually, even as narratively it speeds to misfortune.This short has been on VHS and can be found online. Most recommended.

not only for Petrov technique. but for the taste of hot bread and fresh milk. for the surrealism. and for the quality of brick of a Russia image. a boy. and his cow. a story about a gesture. and a reaction. as memories. as confession. nothing complicated. only a travel in the heart of an universe. after its end, not the story remains important for viewer but the delicacy of last boy words air.something magic because it represents a beginning. like the film itself. a film for adults for remember small details who defines life. nothing more. only an exercise of remember. like a trip of a boy in search of his cow. the force of image. the genius and hard work of an artist. and the silence after its end. a form of magic who impress and seduce. and becomes part of yourself

This is the story about a poor family's cow and a young child's attachment to it.I have admired the animated films of Aleksandr Petrov for some time, as they are terrific works of art come to life. Not surprisingly, he's won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film and been nominated several more times (starting with this film). You just can't help not admiring all the time and effort put into making these lovely films. Apparently, he uses a technique where you paint on glass to make the animations and I have only seen one other artist do similar work (Martine Chartrand and her short BLACK SOUL). The quality of this 1989 piece is about on part with Ms. Chartrand's, though Petrov's newer works are even better--with much higher quality art work and more vibrant colors. While THE COW is lovely, compared to the newer films such as MY LOVE and THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, it is obviously inferior simply because over time his skills have continued to increase. See this film by all means, but also try finding some of his newer films as well--you'll see what I mean and will be impressed by the increased fluidity and quality of the animation.A lovely film that was justly Oscar nominated.