Brief Life, A

“A Brief Life” is a poetic homage to a farmer and the cows he raises. Shot over the course of a year on a small farm in rural Ontario, it follows the same cow through the cycle of the seasons from hours after its birth right on through until it is sold for meat. It is a film concerned with documenting an entire process from beginning to end and allowing the viewer to watch it unfold. “A Brief Life” is not an anti-meat film. It comes out of the concern that by living in an urban environment we can become cut off from the process of where our food comes from. Meat neatly packaged and bought in a local supermarket bears little resemblance to, or connection with, the animal that it came from. This denial of the process seems more perverse than the process itself. By re-connecting the viewer with the process, it allows him/her to acknowledge each person who is part of that process and pay tribute to the animal that is killed. Filmed on a small farm and abattoir, it shows a lifestyle that is still very much in touch with nature and living off the land for substance. Both the farmer and the abattoir owner see the animal’s death as a natural part of life which is directly linked to their survival and livelihood. Shot in black and white, the film has the feel of a period piece which carefully documents something historical. Ironically, with the existence of small farms and businesses being threatened by the takeover of colossal companies, the film captures a rapidly fading lifestyle.