I don't agree with the precedent user : it's an accessible movie ,even for a foreign audience ; the rural drama has always been part of the French cinema s , in the forties("goupi mains rouges" "la ferme du pendu " "la ferme des sept péchés"),then in the seventies ( " la veuve couderc" "l'affaire Dominici " " la horse" ),and even in the contemporary cinema ("revenir" "le vent tourne" "ce qui nous lie" )

"Peaux de Vaches " belong to that tradition ;its subject is as old as the hills : the man who comes back to his native farm ,after spending time in Australia, Canada ,or simply from in town or....in jail.

Roland has just been released from jail where he spent 10 years;he's responsible for setting his young brother's farm on fire which claimed a man's life.When he comes back to his native place ,he's welcomed with open arms by his brother ,but now,he's married and a little girl 's father: his wife don't view this unexpected return (she did not even know the existence of this sibling)favorably . The wife cannot relate to their memories of the good old time (was it so good ,after all?) and sometimes feels like an intruder in her own house . Besides ,her daughter and her new uncle get on so well she finds it hard to stand the situation.And their intimate life came to a halt since the brother-in-law came back.

In the village ,the victim of the fire's daughter has taken her life and rumor has it that the good brother 's and the vet's business isn't quite above board and more, that the prodigal son is perhaps not the black sheep of the family.

Well acted by Jean -François Stevenin ,his own daughter Salomée as his niece ,Jacques Spiesser,cast against type as the farmer and the always reliable Sandrine Bonnaire as the wife ;it sustains interest throughout though the ending is not really convincing .

It does not really renew the rural melodrama, but the actors make it a winner.

"Peux de Vaches" is difficult. The film (and the acting) is superbly done, but the story is intense. I like it for its' dark, thick, "Cul du Sac" psychology but it is certainly not for everyone for that very reason. Set in isolated, rural France makes this film all the more desperate.

The film is about strenuous relationships, loyalty - and despair. It is about accepting hardships without really understanding them. It is also about pity and how it is to be distinguished from love and admiration. I've seen many French films with the same intensity and I'm guessing that it will be mostly the French who will enjoy this film.

The acting is superb in this film – if you're in the right state of mind and don't loose your concentration. Jean-François Stevenin ALWAYS impresses me. He doesn't disappoint me here either. For general audiences, however, I'd recommend his performance in "Deux Lions au Soleil" which is much more easily palatable than "Peux de Vaches".

Despite the fact that I like "Peux de Vaches", I have difficulties recommending it to anyone other than French audiences and perhaps someone with a morose demeanor.