Kampf der Königinnen

Summary

Battle of the Queens


Not a bullfight but a cow fight is the traditional event that takes place in
southern Switzerland in particular and attracts large crowds every year.
These contests between cows and heifers are all about each animal’s ranking
within the herd. This hierarchy has to be in place before the cows leave
their owners’ farms where they have spent the winter to be driven onto the
mountain pastures where they will spend the summer. When cows do battle
there are no injuries, rather, the loser is the one which retreats. The battle
itself involves a lot of snorting and jostling; it is an explosion of muscles and flesh that is wild and archaic. The fight resembles a dance of several tonnes of black-and-white sinew, its rhythms interrupted by contrapuntal
editing. The wildest contestants are cows from Eringer and Evolène, both of
which are endangered breeds since they aren’t suitable for the mass meat
farming industry.



In his film "Kampf der Königinnen" director Nicolas Steiner attempts a delicate
balancing act between tradition and modernity. Structured in strands
in which the various protagonists are introduced – such as a committed
farmer preparing his cow for battle; a radio reporter cutting his teeth on his
first challenging assignment, and a gang of youths on mopeds who only
have eyes for the cowgirls – the film portrays this archaic ritual in all its
eccentric charm and beauty. At the end of the contest, the victorious cow
is crowned, after which this queen of the Alps leads her inferior competitors
out to the pastures.

Source: 61. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)