Say Ahh Productions
Starring: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh
Also Starring: Masuka
Directed by: Ana Lily Amirpour
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: The residents of a desolate Iranian town called Bad City have their problems, in addition to which a female vampire is stalking the streets at night.
Cinema Cat: One of the highlights of the movie is cat actor Masuka playing the cat who belongs to Arash (Arash Marandi), a young man struggling to deal with his drug-addicted father’s debts. According to IMDb, Masuka was not even originally a character in the film but director Ana Lily Amirpour was so impressed with his acting skills she wrote him into the movie. Online fans have dubbed Masuka the Marlon Brando of cat actors, and he has certainly earned the title!
Masuka steals the show in every scene where he is featured. We first see him in the opening scene when Arash steps through a gap in a fence and returns carrying the cat, apparently having just stolen the animal.
Arash continues to carry the cat through the streets during the opening titles.
At one point the cat is threatened by the drug dealer and pimp Saeed (Dominic Rains) who is looking to collect past debts from Arash’s father, Hossein (Marshall Manesh). Fortunately he lets the cat go.
The cat is only seen in passing for much of the film until a pivotal scene in which Hossein, having been without drugs for a time, is going crazy and smashing photos, claiming that the cat is actually his dead wife and that he can see her staring at him through the cat’s eyes.
Arash has had enough and kicks the man out, telling him to take the cat with him. Hossein then goes to a prostitute he knows named Atti (Mozhan Marnó) and when bad things start to take place between them the cat is watching.
The Girl (Sheila Vand) arrives and after dispatching Hussein the prostitute helps her dump the man’s body and then tells her to take the cat away.
Later Arash learns his father is dead and hurriedly packs to leave, stopping by to collect The Girl, whom he has fallen for. When he sees she has the cat, he knows the truth.
In the end Arash drives away with the Girl and the cat, then stops in the desert, obviously torn about what to do. What does he eventually decide? You will have to watch this intriguing film to find out!
In an interview with The Mary Sue, director Amirpour explained that it was producer Sina Sayyah who wanted to use Masuka in the film. “We did a camera test and Masuka is just this cat that likes to go into unfamiliar places and is curious about everything. We were joking yesterday that if you unzipped Masuka’s fur, a dog would come out,” Amirpour explained.
Final Mewsings: Some cats are just born to act!
Many thanks to Leigh Ann for recommending this movie to us!
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