A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn

A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn (痴漢義父 息子の嫁と…, Chikan gifu: Musuko no yome to..., lit. Molester Father-in-Law, the Son's Bride and...) aka A Cow at Daybreak (Yoake no ushi) and Cowshed of Immorality (2003) is a Japanese pink film directed by Daisuke Gotō and starring Ryōko Asagi and Horyu Nakamura. It has been shown in film festivals, and was named the fifth best pink film released in the year 2003.

A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn
A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn in its theatrical release as Molester Father-in-Law, the Son's Bride and...
Directed byDaisuke Gotō
Written byDaisuke Gotō
Produced byYutaka Ikejima
StarringRyōko Asagi
Horyu Nakamura
Yumeka Sasaki
CinematographyMasahide Iioka
Edited byShōji Sakai
Production
company
Distributed byShintōhō Eiga (Japan)
Pink Eiga Inc. (United States)
Release date
  • April 8, 2003 (2003-04-08)
Running time
61 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Synopsis

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Noriko, a young widow, lives with her senile father-in-law, Shukichi. In order to convince Shukichi that his favorite cow is not dead, Noriko rises before dawn, poses as the cow and allows Shukichi to milk her instead. Conflict arises when Shukichi's daughter tries to put an end to this relationship.[1]

Cast

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  • Noriko
  • Hidehisa Ebata
  • Haruki Jō
  • Sakura Mizuki
  • Seiji Nakamitsu... Hajime
  • Hōryū Nakamura... Shukichi
  • Toshimasa Niiro
  • Yumeka Sasaki... Mitsuko

Production and critical reception

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Director Daisuke Gotō cites Yasujirō Ozu's Late Spring (1949) and Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900 (1976) as influences on A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn.[2] The film was screened at the 2004 New School of Pink-Movies, a showcase for the younger "Seven Lucky Gods of Pink" (ピンク七福神, shichifukujin) generation of pink film makers. Though Gotō's career extends to the days of Nikkatsu's Roman porno films—he has the distinction of filming the last entry in that long-running series[3]—he was a relative unknown at the time.[4] The film was chosen as the fifth best pink film release for 2003 at the annual Pink Grand Prix ceremony.[5]

American audiences first saw A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas in September 2008.[6][7] In his Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema (2008), pink film authority Jasper Sharp writes A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn is, "pink film at its most inventive, albeit frankly bewildering."[4]

The British site, DVDTimes, writes that A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn is "a film of bittersweet sentiments, which credibly deals with loneliness, greed and the coming to terms with old age." The site judges Hajime Oba's musical soundtrack as "beautifully poignant", and the cinematography, "keeps things visually alluring, with the Japanese countryside providing a pleasant change of pace."[2]

Availability

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A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn was released theatrically on April 8, 2003.[8] The U.S. company Pinkeiga released the film on Region 0 DVD on February 23, 2009.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn". pinkeiga.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  2. ^ a b Gilvear, Kevin (2009-02-24). "A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn". www.dvdtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  3. ^ Firsching, Robert. "Bed Partner". Allmovie. Archived from the original on 2006-04-26. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  4. ^ a b Sharp, Jasper (2008). Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema. Guildford: FAB Press. pp. 327–328. ISBN 978-1-903254-54-7.
  5. ^ "Best Ten of 2003" (in Japanese). P.G. Web Site. Archived from the original on 2012-08-06. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
  6. ^ "A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn (page 2)". pinkeiga.com. Retrieved 2009-03-06. [dead link]
  7. ^ "Behind the Pink Curtain Retrospective ~ Fantastic Fest 2008 ~". offscreen.com. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  8. ^ 痴漢義父 息子の嫁と… (in Japanese). P.G. Web Site. Archived from the original on 2009-02-16. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  9. ^ "A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn (2003)". Amazon. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-16.

Reviews

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Preceded by
Shameful Family: Pin Down Technique
Pink Grand Prix 5th Best Film
2003
Succeeded by