Fish & Cat
2013 Iranian film
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fish & Cat (in Persian : ماهی و گربه; transliterated as Mahi va Gorbeh) is a 2013 mystery drama[1] Iranian film directed by Shahram Mokri about of a group of university students camping at a lakeside for kite-running competitions. The film is notable for being presented in a non-linear single, uncut 135-minute shot.[2] The film was first premiered in the Venice Film Festival on 6 September 2013.[3] The film won the Special Award in 2013 Venice Film Festival and the FIPRESCI award in 2014 Fribourg International Film Festival.[citation needed] In September 2015, Fish & Cat was one of ten shortlisted films for Iran's submission for the Best International Feature Film at the 88th Academy Awards, but ultimately was not selected.[4]
Kanoon Iran Novin
- Babak Karimi
- Saeed Ebrahimifar
- Siavash Cheraghipoor
- Abed Abest
| Fish & Cat | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Shahram Mokri |
| Written by | Shahram Mokri |
| Produced by | Sepehr Seifi Kanoon Iran Novin |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Mahmoud Kalari |
| Music by | Christophe Rezai |
| Distributed by | Filmiran (Iran) Iranian Independents (International) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 134 minutes |
| Country | Iran |
| Language | Persian |
Fish & Cat was inspired by the true story of a restaurant in northern Iran that served human flesh in the late 90s. Iranian actors Babak Karimi and Saeid Ebrahimifar, along with young, unknown theatre artists, appeared in the film.[5]
Many critics found the film innovative and technically impressive.[citation needed] The film was screened in Iran in several cinemas, including Azadi Cinema Complex and Kourosh Complex in Tehran and Howeyzeh cinema complex in Mashhad.[6]
Plot
A number of students have traveled to the Caspian region in order to participate in a kite-flying event during the winter solstice. Next to their camp is a small hut occupied by three cooks who work at a nearby restaurant.
Cast
- Abed Abest as Parviz
- Mona Ahmadi as Nadia
- Ainaz Azarhoush as Parvaneh
- Nazanin Babaei as Shirin
- Mohammad Berahmani as Boy
- Siavash Cheraghipoor as Father
- Saeed Ebrahimifar as Saeed
- Alireza Esapoor as Guard
- Neda Jebraeili as Mina
- Shadi Karamroudi as Maral
- Babak Karimi as Babak
- Mohammad Reza Maleki as Jamshid
- Faraz Modiri as Kambiz
- Milad Rahimi as Shahrooz
- Arnavaz Safari as Asal
- Nima Shahrabi as Twin
- Pouya Shahrabi as Twin
- Khosrow Shahraz as Hamid
- Pedram Sharifi as Pedram
- Parinaz Tayyeb as Maryam
- Samaneh Vafaiezadeh as Ladan
Production
Gradually subverting a gruesome premise drawn from a real-life case of a backwoods restaurant that served human flesh, the film builds an atmosphere of tension as a menacing pair descend on a campsite where a group of college kids have gathered for a kite-flying festival. But as the camera doubles back and criss-crosses between characters in real time, subtle space-time paradoxes suggest that something bigger is going on.[7]
Shahram Mokri said "I like the paintings of Maurits Escher, where you can see a change in perspective in the same visual. In my film, I wanted to give a change in perspective of time in one single shot. So the idea for the film came from his paintings.[8]
Mokri added "Fish & Cat is a film about time. How you can make a perspective in it and break that. This film was interesting for me to make and that was because of its method of production. Insisting on narrating a story in a single shot and try to break the time which goes ahead."
Music
Mokri wanted a kind of music that combined minimal music with the music of horror Z-movies, so he asked Kristoph Rezaee to score the film.[9]
Critical reception
Manohla Dargis from The New York Times wrote: " It's a tour de force — the cinematographer is Mahmoud Kalari, who shot A Separation — and as quietly political as it is brazenly cinematic."[10]
Steve MacFarlane from Slant Magazine wrote: "The film is a game: Shahram Mokri challenges his viewers to grip parallel narrative threads in what feels like suspiciously real time, rather than to assemble or contextualize any metaphorical ones."[11]
Alissa Simon from Variety wrote: "“A highly original, compelling feature, filmed in one long, bravura shot establishing Shahram Mokri as a distinctive talent.”[12]
Awards
- Dubai International Film Festival 2013 - Muhr AsiaAfrica Special Jury Prize
- Fribourg International Film Festival 2014 - FIPRESCI Prize and Youth Jury Award[13]
- Venice Film Festival 2013 - Venice Horizons Award - Special Prize[14]
- 13th Lisbon International Film Festival - Best Film award
- 13th If Istanbul Independent Film Festival - Best Film Award