A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night DVD

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!

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - close up of Masuka cat looking up

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.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - Masuka cat being carried through fence by Arash

Arash continues to carry the cat through the streets during the opening titles.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - Masuka cat being carried by Arash

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.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - Masuka cat being held by Saeed

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.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - close up of Masuka cat looking up at Hossein

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.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - close up of Masuka cat's eye

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.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - Masuka cat being held by The Girl

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.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - Masuka cat being held up by The Girl

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!

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - Masuka cat sitting in back of car with Arash and The Girl

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.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - Masuka cat lying down