Holy Cow

Totone spends his days with his friends Jean-Yves and Francis in Jura, flirting, drinking, and getting into occasional brawls with youths from the neighboring village. Their carefree routine marks the start of the story as they drift from one small misadventure to another. The mood is light, even as warning signs loom.

During a village festival, Totone's father dies in a car accident while driving home. Totone suddenly inherits sole responsibility for his younger sister Claire and must adapt to a future he did not expect. The tragedy abruptly ends his carefree days and reshapes his priorities.

Totone takes sole responsibility for Claire, trying to stabilize life for both of them. He soon loses his job as a janitor at a cheese dairy after a physical altercation with a coworker. The job loss sharpens the pressure to provide for his sister.

Marie-Lise, running her late parents' dairy farm, proves kind and capable. Her high-quality milk tempts Totone with the prospect of winning the 30,000 EUR prize for best Comté. He starts to glimpse taking over his father's cheese dairy, guided by her milk as the essential ingredient.

To raise funds for buying back the tractor and pursuing the cheese competition, Jean-Yves sells his lovingly modified stock car. The sacrifice shows the friends’ willingness to back Totone’s plan. The stage is set for a high-stakes cheese race fueled by friendship and risk.

Totone starts a romance with Marie-Lise, using intimate moments to keep her distracted while his friends prepare to siphon milk. The deception lures him closer to her, even as it tightens the net around his own ethics. The plan begins to blur the line between love and ambition.

One evening, Marie-Lise is busy with a pregnant cow, and Totone offers to take turns watching. The cow goes into labor, and Totone must decide whether to steal the milk or wake Marie-Lise as promised. He ultimately helps care for the calving cow while his friends enter to take the milk.

Totone steals the key to the milk chamber and allows his friends to siphon the milk. He then returns to Marie-Lise and helps care for the calving cow, revealing a deep inner conflict between loyalty and desire for success. The rift between his actions and his relationships widens.

Marie-Lise's brothers catch the intruders in the act, and a fight breaks out between them and Totone's friends. Totone throws himself between the combatants to stop the brawl. The clash shatters trust and leads to the end of Totone's friendship with Jean-Yves, and Marie-Lise pulls away.

Totone finally completes the cheese with help from his little sister Claire. However, he learns that only certified businesses may enter the competition, effectively disqualifying his dairy. The setback forces him to reconsider how to present the cheese.

Totone breaks into Marie-Lise's farm one final time and leaves his cheese as a reconciliation gift. The gesture is meant to show remorse and mend the rift between them. The act marks one last effort to salvage their partnership and future plans.

At the stock car race, Totone jumps onto the track to help Jean-Yves get his stock car running again after a rollover. Jean-Yves wins the competition, and Totone’s loyalty to his friend is tested against his own ambitions. The outcome reinforces where his loyalties lie.

Totone sends Claire to celebrate his triumph with him, reinforcing the family bond that kept him going. They share a moment of small victory as they wait for life to settle. The sister’s presence anchors his remaining ties to the ordinary world.

Totone heads home alone but meets Marie-Lise at the exit of the grounds. She flashes her breasts at him joyfully, signaling forgiveness and the possibility of a renewed relationship. The film closes on a note of tentative reconciliation and shared future possibilities.