This quite extraordinary 1968 film in the PFA collection is noted for marking the beginning of the Iranian New Wave and was shown widely at international film festivals. The Cow is a portrait of village life where isolation and the most extreme poverty create their own abiding social structure. The story moves from tragedy to absurdity without a wink of the eye: this is the thoroughly believable tale of a man, Hassan, who deeply loves his cow. When the animal, who is the sole source of life for the small village, is killed by marauders, Hassan's neighbors try but fail to protect him from the grief they see coming. Mad with sorrow, Hassan in his mind becomes the cow he loved, and the effect on the village is telling. There is, in the end, a fine line between man and beast. Mehrjui has filmed with an eye for everyone's compulsions, making Hassan's only the most tragic among them.