English Title: The Emigrants
Svensk Filmindustri (SF)
Starring: Max von Sydow, Sven-Olof Bern, Eddie Axberg
Directed by: Jan Troell

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

Synopsis: An unblinking look at a Swedish family from the mid-1800’s who decide to make the challenging journey to North America in search of a better life.

Kitty Cameo: Early in the film Karl (Max von Sydow) is sitting in the barn with his father Nils (Sven-Olof Bern). As they talk, Karl is holding a white cat with gray tabby markings.

The cat starts to growl and makes noises as if it is in pain. Nils says that he will have to tell Karl’s younger brother, Robert (Eddie Axberg) about the cat, that she won’t last much longer.

Kitty Carnage Warning! The following scene has been cut from the shorter version of the film. Robert is seen tying a bag which is wiggling as the cat is heard screaming and screeching. He then throws the canvas bag into the river and watches as the cat apparently struggles within. We can deduce that the father told Robert to drown the cat to put her out of her misery, but Robert is clearly affected by the cat’s struggling. He follows the bag down the river and even throws some stones at it, apparently trying to end the cat’s suffering, but eventually it floats out of sight. This action haunts Robert for some time. It should be noted that at no time is the cat actually seen inside the bag or in the river, and it’s not clear if a live cat was actually used for this scene.

Final Mewsings: There are better ways to put down a cat who is suffering.

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