When The Cows Come Home: NZIFF Review 

Director Costa Botes' latest may be a gentle documentary, but its bucolic charms are largely due to how one may feel about its subject, Cambridge resident Andrew Johnstone.

Opening with shots of cows being called in from a field, and closing with Johnstone walking out into the field as the sun sets, the doco's meandering amble takes in his philosophies and outlooks on life.

At the start, it resembles somewhat of a How to Cow manual as Johnstone regales the viewer with the best way to break in cows, look after them and how to keep a herd in check.

Just as the feeling that this subject is all that will engulf the doco, Botes takes a diversion at the 30 minute mark to ensure the viewer's interest doesn't completely wane - and also that's when Johnstone as a subject starts to come alive a little more, as the depth of the onion is revealed.

But it's not quite enough to salvage When The Cows Come Home from its muddled exploration of one man. Botes is on record as saying it's about character for him and when he just sees an interesting person, he feels it can make a story.

Yet When The Cows Come Home doesn't quite rise above the quirk of its lead, even as it explores mental health issues, rural attitudes and one man's past. It may well be that this story is one that's just told because it's about a man and nothing more, but in its execution, no matter how well shot it is, and how stunning it looks, it feels like a hollow experience rather than an essential one.