A Dysfunctional Cat

Four months after her wedding in Iran, Mina finally joins Kian in Germany. But as they spend the first days and nights in their now shared flat, there is one thing above all between them: a great deal of distance. Mina and Kian met through a traditional Iranian marriage bureau. Kian, who has lived in Germany for years, traveled to Iran especially for the wedding. The two had decided on each other for quite pragmatic reasons: Kian, a resident doctor and permanently single, had simply not found the right woman in Germany despite an exhausting search. Mina, who studied electrical engineering, was considered difficult to place at home in Iran because of her age. But some candidates were also ruled out because of her rather liberal ideas about marriage. In this respect, Kian thinks very similarly to Mina. He, too, feels torn between the security his Iranian roots give him and the promise of self-realization that a Western lifestyle entices him with. But is this shared openness enough to lead a happy marriage? It soon becomes clear to the couple that their new life as a couple in Germany is not what they had hoped for. While Kian works a lot, Mina feels isolated in a foreign country and struggles with the German language. Even though Kian tries hard to get through to her in his sparse free time, the two hardly succeed in building a real relationship. Mina withdraws more and more into her role as wife. In order not to be so lonely, she buys a cat, which has a genetic defect and causes a lot of chaos in the flat and in the lives of both of them. Misunderstandings arise and the tense situation between them escalates. Has their marriage really failed before it has really begun?