THE CASSANDRA CAT

When a mysterious traveling circus rolls into a small Czech town, its magical feline mascot unleashes mayhem and ignites outright anarchy among the town's unruly residents. Unbeknownst to most of the locals, this cat harbors a secret power: when his tiny glasses are removed, he carries the ability to reveal people's hidden characters, by changing their color for all the world to see — violet for liars and hypocrites, yellow for cheaters, and red for those in love. At a circus performance attended by the entire town, acrobat Diana takes off the cat's glasses, exposing soap-opera levels of dishonesty and infidelity within the community, and capturing sensitive teacher Robert's heart in the process, as a delirious riot ensues.

Part fairy tale and part social satire, Vojtech Jasný's THE CASSANDRA CAT is an early entry in the Czech New Wave. Mixing wild, hallucinatory trick photography – including lush cinematography by Jaroslav Kucera (DAISIES) — with dizzying musical numbers, the film revels in fantasy, surrealism and magical realism. Endearing, genuinely whimsical, yet hiding a deep social message, the film was banned after the Prague Spring in 1968, sending director Jasný into exile.

This sparkling new 4K restoration by the Czech National Archive and Janus Films brings this unique classic back to the cinema!