First Cow (2019)

We enjoyed this story of an American cook and a Chinese immigrant making a living among Oregon fur trappers in the early 1820s. With lots of nominations and a few wins already, the movie adds much to director/co-writer/editor Kelly Reichardt's filmography. John Magaro is the taciturn cook and Orion Lee the voluble immigrant. Look for cameos by Ewen Bremner (with his thick Scottish accent) and Rene Auberjonois, and Toby Jones settles in in the third act.

Jon Raymond co-wrote the screenplay, based on his 2004 novel The Half-Life.

I'm streaming the music by William Tyler right now with my subscription from Apple Music. It's also available free from his website.

Director of photography Christopher Blauvelt gives us lush pictures of the Pacific northwest, shot in the aspect ratio of 1.37:1, close to the 4:3 non-high-definition TV ratio, but technically known as the Academy ratio for 35mm, standardized in 1932.

Reichardt was last blogged for Certain Women, Magaro for Carol, Bremner for Wonder Woman, Jones for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Raymond for Meek's Cutoff.

Lee is new to me though not new as an actor. This is Tyler's feature debut after a seven minute documentary he made about his own music. Though I've yet to write about Blauvelt, we've seen much of his work--he shot Meek's Cutoff (4:3 aspect ratio), The Bling Ring, Certain Women (super 16 aspect ratio), Mid90s, and Emma., to name a few.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are jumping over the moon, averaging 95%, while its audiences are practically lactose intolerant at 60. Nonetheless, we liked it when we watched it on Showtime January 5. You can also rent it on Amazon Prime and iTunes.