Kampf der Königinnen (Steiner, 2011)

The yearly cow battles in the canton Valais of Switzerland to crown the queen of cows is a spectacle.

I've missed this movie twice at festivals and was looking forward to see it now. Steiner tried to weave a documentary-style story around the actual event, trying to bring the characters closer together. He didn't manage that on all accounts and once in a while I dropped out of the narrative, wondering where he was going with that. I really liked the genuine farmers that breed those cows for fun (they don't give milk or meat) and let them fight each other in a increasingly popular competition once a year.

These are not your vachequirit cows, they are more sinister, they seem dangerous, they're heavily built and they look very powerful. I have been told that the cows are obliged to be pregnant to able to fight, because otherwise they might prove too aggressive. I was a little disappointed that they've let this pretty bizarre fact out of the movie, it might have added to that final fight. Those approximately 12-15 minutes of pure fighting accompanied by a pretty driving interpretation of the Bolero are really amazing to watch.

If I'm doing a fight scene, I'm absolutely going back to this part of the movie. Pure cowdrenalin!

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