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Fish & Cat

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Fish & Cat
Film poster
Directed byShahram Mokri
Written byShahram Mokri
Produced bySepehr Seifi
Kanoon Iran Novin
Starring
CinematographyMahmoud Kalari
Music byChristophe Rezai
Distributed byFilmiran (Iran)
Iranian Independents (International)
Release date
  • 6 September 2013 (2013-09-06) (Venice Film Festival)
Running time
134 minutes
CountryIran
LanguagePersian

Fish & Cat (in Persian : ماهی و گربه; transliterated as Mahi va Gorbeh) is a 2013 mystery drama slasher[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]

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

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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

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  • 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

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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

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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

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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

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References

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  1. ^ "یک غافلگیری ایرانی / گفت‌و‌گو با شهرام مکری و سعید ابراهیمی‌فر درباره "ماهی و گربه"". Khabaronline.ir. 8 April 2014.
  2. ^ Clarence, Tsui (12 November 2013). "Fish & Cat (Mahi va Gorbeh): Film Review". Hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Fish & Cat (2013) Release Info". IMDb. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Iran Shortlists 10 Films as Potential Oscar Submissions | SydneysBuzz". Archived from the original on 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2015-09-25.
  5. ^ "Shahram Mokri to Take Part in Three International Film Festivals with "Fish and Cat"". Fars News. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  6. ^ "خرید بلیت سینما: فیلم ماهی و گربه". Cinematicket.org.
  7. ^ "Fish & Cat 2013". Nziff.co.nz.
  8. ^ "Young Iran's love for horror". The Hindu. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  9. ^ "مهندسی‌شده فیلم ساختیم / "ماهی و گربه" در گفت‌و‌گو با شهرام مکری و سعید ابراهیمی‌فر". Khabaronline.ir. 11 March 2014.
  10. ^ Dargis, Manohla (24 March 2014). "New Directors/New Films Highlights Include 'Fish & Cat'". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  11. ^ MACFARLANE, STEVE (22 March 2014). "Fish & Cat; Film Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  12. ^ Simon, Alissa (18 September 2013). "Venice Film Review: 'Fish & Cat'". Variety.com. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  13. ^ "ماهی و گربه". Shahrammokri.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
  14. ^ "Mahi va gorbeh - Awards". IMDb.
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