Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow had the misfortune of a March 2020 theatrical release date… It went on to win many critical plaudits (the New York Film Critics Circle named it the best film of the year) but it certainly hasn’t been seen as widely as it should have been. Co-written by her regular collaborator Jon Raymond, based on his novel The Half-Life, this is set, for the most part, in Oregon Territory in 1820. The eponymous beast is a lonely Jersey cow, the property of the richest man in town, but surreptitiously milked every night by a baker (John Magaro, from Koln 75) and his enterprising buddy, King-Lu (Orion Lee). The two men hope that biscuits will be their golden ticket…
Kelly Reichardt’s latest, The Mastermind is an unusual heist movie, with John Magaro in a supporting role.
A parable of economics and politics, with shrewd insights into the workings of supply and demand, scarcity and scale and other puzzles of the marketplace, the movie is also keenly attuned to details of history, both human and natural.
AO Scott, New York Times
A stealthy, resonant, and finally riveting tale.
Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
Kelly Reichardt
John Magaro, Orion Lee, Ewen Bremner, Lily Gladstone, Rene Auberjonois
USA
2019
English
Best Film, New York Film Critics Circle
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Credits
Executive Producer
Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Louise Lovegrove, Christopher Carroll
Producer
Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani
Screenwriter
Jon Raymond, Kelly Reichardt
Cinematography
Christopher Blauvelt
Editor
Kelly Reichardt
Original Music
William Tyler
Production Design
Anthony Gasparro
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Noting the laughably low security at the local art museum, an unemployed dreamer clumsily orchestrates a less-than-daring heist that leaves him in possession of four modestly valuable paintings, but no clue as to what to do next.
Image: © 2025 Mastermind Movie Inc
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A visiting filmmaker arrives a day early for a festival screening. He meets and courts a painter (Kim Minhee) and spends the evening with her. Halfway through, the movie starts over: Same people, same places, significantly different outcomes.
