• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Seventh Row

A place to think deeply about movies

  • Start here
  • eBooks
  • Podcasts
    • Seventh Row Podcast
    • 21st Folio
    • Seventh Row on other podcasts
  • Masterclasses
  • Merch
  • Join now!
Home / Podcasts / Ep. 52: First Cow & Wendy and Lucy

Seventh Row Editors / August 11, 2020

Ep. 52: First Cow & Wendy and Lucy

Kelly Reichardt’s newest film First Cow is her second feature, after Wendy and Lucy (2008), to explore the effects of capitalism through character’s relationship with an animal. In this episode, we discuss the connections between the two films (and animals).

In this episode of the podcast we discuss First Cow and Wendy and Lucy

This episode of the podcast features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and Roads to Nowhere contributor Angelo Muredda (@amuredda)

Wendy and Lucy (2008)

Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy is full of ephemeral moments of connection, even if Wendy spends most of the film isolated from both emotional and financial support. Her story is all the more heartbreaking because Reichardt shows us how much of a balm these liminal moments of solidarity are, before demonstrating why they’re unsustainable. Reichardt establishes Wendy (Michelle Williams) as a woman without any form of support, save for the companionship of her dog, Lucy, and the shelter of her car, which allows her to travel safely toward promised work in Alaska without paying for transport or a place to sleep.

Read more of Angelo’s essay “No fixed address: Ephemeral connections in Wendy and Lucy” in Roads to Nowhere

First Cow (2019)

Kelly Reichardt’s latest film, First Cow (2019),follows two men searching for a better life elsewhere that’s always just slightly out of reach. Cookie Figowitz (John Magaro) and King-Lu (Orion Lee) live in 19th-century Oregon, but the film begins in the present day with a wordless prologue. A woman (Alia Shawkat) and her dog wander the Oregon woodland and uncover the skeletons of two men lying side by side in the dirt. These, we later presume, are Cookie and King-Lu; the film follows their sweet, burgeoning friendship and their quest to fulfill modest dreams, while the spectre of death hangs over their heads.  

Show notes on Wendy and Lucy & First Cow

  • View our in-depth introduction to Kelly Reichardt and her films
  • Purchase your copy of our newest ebook to discover how modern master Kelly Reichardt operates, and to read a series of essays about each of Reichardt’s films, which examine her thoughtful, quiet portraits of everyday lives.
  • Read a free chapter from Roads To Nowhere, featuring an interview with Lily Gladstone
  • Purchase your Kelly Reichardt mug

Listen to Our Other Podcasts on Kelly Reichardt’s Films

  • Ep. 47: Roads to Nowhere ebook Preview
  • Ep. 37: Subverting the Western Featuring Meek’s Cutoff
  • Ep. 25: Kelly Reichardt’s Old Joy and Night Moves

Follow Angelo on Twitter for updates on the Disability on Film series

Tweet
Share
Share
0 Shares

Filed Under: Kelly Reichardt, Podcasts Tagged With: kelly reichardt, podcast, Women Directors

Get personalized film recommendations

Discover your new favourite film.

Privacy and Cookies Policy

100% free. Unsubscribe any time.

« Older Post
Kris Rey on her comedy of mid-30s malaise, I Used to Go Here
Newer Post »
A Mike Leigh masterclass (Lockdown Film School #12)

Footer






Seventh Row

  • Log In
  • Film Adventurer Membership
  • Cinephile Membership
  • Merchandise
  • Institutional Subscriptions
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • About
  • Contact Us

Our Ebooks

  • In their own words: Fiction directors – an ebook on filmmaking
  • Roads to nowhere: Kelly Reichardt’s broken American dreams – an ebook to prepare you for First Cow
  • Portraits of Resistance: The Cinema of Céline Sciamma
  • Beyond Empowertainment: Feminist Horror and The Struggle for Female Agency
  • The 2019 Canadian Cinema Yearbook
  • Tour of Memories: on Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir
  • Peterloo in Process: A Mike Leigh collaboration
  • Leave No Trace
  • Lean on Pete
  • You Were Never Really Here
  • Call Me by Your Name

Browse

  • Start here
  • Directors We Love
  • Films We Love
  • Guide to Canadian film
  • World Cinema for Young Adults
  • Family Viewing Guide
  • Interview Index by Job Title
  • Interview Index by Last Name

Discover Great Films: Take a Challenge

  • Kelly Reichardt Challenge
  • Céline Sciamma challenge
  • Joanna Hogg Challenge
  • Canadian Cinema Challenge





Get personalized film recommendations

Discover your new favourite film.

Privacy and Cookies Policy

100% free. Unsubscribe any time.

Connect with us

  • Lockdown Film School
  • Events
  • Podcast
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Follow us on social media

Facebook

Like

Instagram

Follow

Twitter

Follow

© 2021 · Seventh Row &middot

  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • FAQ
  • Contribute
  • Contact