by Linda Kay
Original Title: La donna scimmia
Directed by: Marco Ferreri
Synopsis: The title sounds like a B-horror movie but in actuality this is more terrifying in many ways because it is based on the true story of Julia Pastrana. Vile opportunist Antonio Focaccia (Ugo Tognazzi) meets the reclusive Maria Esposito (Annie Girardot) who suffers from hypertrichosis which causes hair growth over much of her body. Seeing an opportunity, Antonio builds a sideshow business around Maria and later marries her, although his motives always seem to be highly questionable. The uncut version of the film has a shocking ending which is actually true to life.
Purr Blur: Near the beginning of the film Antonio is running a slideshow at a church and goes into the kitchen to get something to eat. After serving himself some food he moves to a table where a small black kitten keeps approaching him.
A couple of times Antonio moves the persistent kitten aside before finally picking up the tiny cat and setting him down on the floor. “Hasn’t he eaten?” Antonio asks the women working there. “He’s a baby, he only drinks milk,” one woman answers. The kitten is not seen again.
Final Mewsings: Kittens can be opportunists but are never vile.
Many thanks to Celia for letting us know about the cat in this film.
Relevant Links:
To discuss this film and other cats in movies and on television, join us on Facebook and X.