Bob the stray
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Bob the stray |
| Original title | A Street Cat Named Bob |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2016 |
| length | 103 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK 12 JMK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Roger Spottiswoode |
| script |
Tim John , Maria Nation |
| production | Adam Rolston |
| music | David Hirschfelder |
| camera | Peter Wunstorf |
| cut | Paul Tothill |
| occupation | |
| |
Bob the Stray (Original Title: A Street Cat Named Bob ) is a British film directed by Roger Spottiswoode based on a true story. It is based on the 2013 book Bob the Stray: The Cat That Changed My Life by James Bowen . The film premiered on November 3, 2016 in London. In Germany it was released in cinemas on January 12, 2017.
action
Street musician James lives on the streets of London . He is a drug addict and is participating in a methadone substitution program. He doesn't really want to have anything more to do with the junkie Baz, whom he meets occasionally, but lets himself be seduced into a shot by him, whereupon he ends up in the hospital. His supervisor Val manages to find an apartment for James. There he is surprised by a red tabby cat that has entered through the open window. He feeds her and tries to find her owner. Since he does not succeed in doing this, he exposes her in the park, but she comes back to James with an injury. Animal friend Betty, who lives nearby, arranges free veterinary treatment for him, but he has to sacrifice his last money for the expensive medication. Betty also names the cat Bob and makes sure that he is neutered. James becomes very fond of Bob and talks to him a lot. The animal follows him around town to make music and James discovers that the passers-by have given him a lot more money since he joined. He now always appears with Bob, who mostly sits on his shoulder. One day, James finds Baz lifeless with an overdose. Although James takes care of him immediately and the ambulance is called quickly, he does not survive.
James develops a friendly relationship with Betty, but he does not tell her about his drug use. Betty's brother, in whose apartment she lives, died of an overdose, which makes her aversion to drug addicts. James tells her that his parents separated when he was a child and that his mother now lives in Australia while his father rejects him. One day he happened to meet his father and his new partner and told him that he would like to come to dinner at Christmas. To get rid of him, the father suggests a possible New Year visit. James actually visits him unannounced that day, which ends in disaster as Bob knocks over a vase and the Christmas tree.
One day there is a fight at a street appearance by James. Although James couldn't help it, he is banned from performing in town. Instead, he gets a job as a salesman for the homeless newspaper The Big Issue . Again, Bob makes him very successful. When he sells a newspaper in a colleague's “Revier”, the latter blackens him and James is banned from selling it for a month, which puts him financially and mentally in need again. Betty accidentally overhears James taking his methadone in the pharmacy and turns away from him. When he is allowed to sell again, a local reporter writes a report about James and his cat.
James is doing so well now that he can stop methadone. Betty offers to help, but most of all, the presence of Bob lets him get through this difficult week. Betty moves out of the neighborhood apartment and back to her parents, but gives James her new address and phone number. James visits his father again and they both apologize to each other. The literary agent Mary, who repeatedly gave presents to James and Bob at their appearances, comes across the newspaper report and comes up with the idea of publishing a book about James' story. Although it is not easy for him, James is actually writing this book, which he will present at a reading where he thanks everyone who has helped him. Above all, Bob showed him that he can lead a different life.
background
During the shooting there were a total of four different cats on set, all of which were trained for different tasks. The scenes in which groups of people occur were represented by the actual tomcat Bowens, as only the real Bob was sufficiently used to these situations and remained calm. James Bowen himself can be seen in the bookstore scene at the end of the film. Bob died on June 15, 2020 at the age of 14.
Roger Spottiswoode also made the films Scott & Huutsch (1989) and Midnight Sun (2014), in which human-animal relationships are also discussed.
criticism
Antje Wessels from Filmstarts.de thinks the film is "unadorned and sad, but still beautiful". She goes on to say that director Roger Spottiswoode “ skilfully plays on the keyboard of emotional cinema in this unlikely mix of Once and Trainspotting ”.
The German Film and Media Assessment (FBW) in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating of particularly valuable .
Web links
- Bob, who strays in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Bob, the stray at rotten tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for Bob the stray . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF).
- ↑ Age rating for Bob the stray . Youth Media Commission .
- ↑ Bob the Cat has died. Retrieved June 17, 2020 (UK English).
- ↑ Criticism on film releases.