Overview
Usually categorized as rural drama, the film narrates the lives of two Basque families covering the years 1875-1936, which historically were the unstable and bloody years from the Third Carlist War to the Spanish Civil War. To help the non-Spanish viewer understand the history depicted in the film: the Basques allied themselves initially with the Carlists (who were right-wing) but later with the Spanish Republic (who were left-wing) because, in each case, they were promised local autonomy.
Small segments of Vacas were used by Medem in his documentary film La pelota vasca to illustrate the Carlist Wars.
Read more about this topic: Vacas