Year: 1996
Country:
France/Germany
Run Time:
126 minutes
"It captures 100% of the joy of living. Who does that better than gypsies?" One fan's praise for BLACK CAT WHITE CAT, Emir Kusturica's uproarious frolic featuring three generations of gypsies still thriving and conniving on the banks of the Danube. Matka, a sharpie whose money-making plans never seem to go right, tries to bilk both his dying father and an aged gypsy chieftain out of the necessary capital to purchase a trainful of contraband gasoline going through Bulgaria. Typically, he winds up out of gas and deep in debt to cocaine-snorting war-criminal-turned-profiteer Dadan. One possible solution: the volatile Dadan is desperate to marry off his truly 'little' sister, a headstrong dwarf named Afrodita. And the last asset Matka has to his name is a strapping teenage son Zare. But then there's grandpa's secret savings, stashed in an accordian; "Casablanca"-loving Ungle Grga and his Pee Wee Hermanesque go-cart/invalid bed; and Ida, Zare's absolutely fearless girlfriend. And two recurring catts, black and white, representing both good and ill luck that commingle with the vivid characters' dreams and scheems, in a Bruegel-like comic canvas, as only Kusturica could paint it. (In Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles)
Screenplay
Thierry Arbogast, Michel Amatheiu
Director
Emir Kusturica
Producer
Karl Baumgartner
Cinematography
Gordan Mihic
Editing
Svetolik-Mica Zajc
Principal Cast
Bajram Severdzan, Sjidan Todorovic, Branka Katic, Florijan Ajdini
October Films
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