The Start of the Competition Program: Drama “Mother Teresa of Cats”

Despite the fact that our watches were showing 10:15 in the morning, the hall of the “Salyut” movie theater was full of people. The program director of the Festival, Igor Guskov, greeted the audience. The competition program of the Festival started with a drama from the Polish director Pavel Sala, “Mother Teresa of Cats”. The film was shot while being supported by the Polish Institute of Cinema.

An oppressive psychological drama, based on a true story, reveals the problem of upbringing children, and of the cruelty and barbarity of adolescents. The film describes the life of an ordinary Polish family raising 2 sons: a 12-year-old Marzin and a 22-year-old Arthur and a daughter named Yadya. Their little apartment is filled with strays that are being brought right from the street by their mother Teresa on a regular basis.

A special feature of the film is the method of narration: the events are presented in reverse, starting from the culmination point and going back into retrospective for more than a year. An elder son who detests his mother and the younger son, who got caught under his influence, kill their mother and hide the disjointed body in the wardrobe. A close friend of Teresa, Eva, who is very worried about her sudden disappearance, finds the body. That’s when the plot starts developing in reverse, disclosing the overall complexity of relationships and peculiarities of upbringing children in this family. 

Throughout the film the audience could not move the eyes away from the screen: the intricate notes, carefully arranged by the director, just couldn’t leave anybody cold. The film got many people thinking and attempting to find the answers to those vital questions that Pavel Sala raised in his work.