Mahiye sorkh shodeh

This fish is really having a hard time of it. First he is caught and sold at the market, then a housewife fries him in a pan. Thank goodness for the phone that rings and calls her away into another room. A cat comes in and the fish makes a suggestion: if she takes him away from this place he will let her eat a piece of him. The cat agrees. But it is a long way to the sea and the cat is hungry, so she eats two pieces and abandons the fish. A mouse approaches. She is hungry too and, for her services, she demands the middle part of the fish. She carries him a long way through a colourful landscape but, when she finally leaves him in the lurch, quite a number of the fish's bones are already exposed. A dog approaches and offers his help, of course in exchange for a suitable morsel ... The fish recounts his story in dulcet tones in this vibrant, quirky animation with a deeper meaning. (Berlinale)