The Moo Man

This thoughtful, unassuming documentary spends much time with Stephen Hook, a small-scale dairy farmer in East Sussex who harbours an unusual amount of compassion for his cows and customers. For the latter, he produces raw, organic milk (his cows are tested for TB once a year), which he struggles to make money from. And on his animals he lavishes love and attention (the national average is 150 cows per stockman, Hook keeps just 55). There is a special place in his heart for elderly Ida, who we see promoting their milk on the seafront. ‘She’s the only cow that’s been to Eastbourne,’ he muses later, when age and illness threaten Ida and he’s inspired to give a moving speech about the cycles of life and death. ‘The Moo Man’ lacks the penetrating calm and persistence of Raymond Depardon’s superb films about rural France, yet some may find it a soothing counterpoint to the heady agricultural storylines on ‘The Archers’. Udders may be more discerning.