by Mark Murton

Directed by: Marcos Carnevale

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: When seventy-seven year old hypochondriac widower Fred (Manuel Alexandre) moves to an apartment in Madrid he finds himself living next door to elderly Argentinian Elsa (China Zorrilla). As they get to know each other Elsa conquers Fred’s heart with her devil-may-care attitude and optimistic view of life so when he learns that Elsa is terminally ill he sets out to make her dream of re-creating the Trevi Fountain scene from La Dolce Vita come true.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): At their hotel in Rome Fred presents Elsa with a cardboard box. She opens the lid to reveal a tiny kitten.

They leave arm in arm and when they arrive at the fountain Elsa opens the box and lifts out the kitten.

Elsa tells Fred he needs to go and get some milk for the kitten just as Marcello Mastroianni did in film. Fred protests but eventually departs to try and find some.

Elsa continues on and as the fountain comes into view she stops and stares in wonder while holding the wriggling kitten close to her.

She deposits the kitten on the ground at her feet and enters the fountain. Fred duly returns with a carton of milk but the kitten is now forgotten and not seen again as Fred joins Elsa in the fountain.

A behind the scenes video shows a wider shot of Elsa placing the kitten on the ground next to the fountain, as well as a shot of actress China Zorilla cuddling what appears to be another kitten (possibly a stand-in).

Final Mewsings: Just one more stray cat left to wander around Rome.

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