#its kinda like a spin off of my “show me your flaws” darling series that I'm in the middle of but it wouldnt go away

[attract-mode-collective]

Your Very Brief Guide To Japanese Cat Movies

In case you haven’t heard, the popular cat collecting game for smart phones is getting a motion picture adaption, in its homeland. The reaction thus far has been, as expected, mixed: first, the very idea sounds kinda cool… but most video game movies are supposed to be bad, right? But Neko Atsume no Ie (which translates to Cat Collection's House) isn’t being made in Hollywood, so it’s gotta be great, right?

On one hand, I’m most definitely interested in how it turns out, given my interest in video game cinema. I’m such a fan of the genre that, unlike most others, I actually dig the one example of the genre that everyone loves to crap on the most, aka the Super Mario Bros adaptation. And on the other, I also happen to be a massive fan of Asian cinema as a whole. So, Neko Atsume no Ie being a video game movie, coupled with how it’s also from Japan, I should be super confident that I’m probably going to low what I see, right?

Eh, not necessarily. Cuz the fact of the matter is… and I know I’m going to get a TON of flack for saying this (more than my Scott Pigrim movie review; just Google it), but… Japan’s cinematic output is not exactly the best. I mean, there are some truly amazing filmmakers on that end; aside from the greats that everyone knows about already, like Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu, Seijun Suzuki, and Nobuhiko Obayashi, these days you have Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Sion Sono, Hitoshi Matsumoto, and Takeshi Kitano, plus a few others.

But that’s about it. Cuz otherwise, holy sh*t are Japanese movies awful. Basically, a Japanese flick is either really, really good or really, really boring or bad. There’s no middle ground. And the reasons are numerous, though maybe this isn’t the time or place to really discuss them (unless folks really want me to). It’s perhaps worth noting how the absolute greatest motion picture adaptation of a video game, IMHO, hails from Japan. That being the one for Ace Attorney, directed by Takashi Miike, another one of the greats.

Yet there is a glimmer of hope. Because I’m not approaching Neko Atsume no Ie as yet another video game movie, but as yet another cat movie. While not an official genre unto itself, they have starred in a considerable amount, to the point that it’s somewhat analogous to the subset of dog movies to stem from Hollywood. So, how a brief survey of three Japanese cat movies I’ve personally seen?

Rent-A-Cat

Rent-A-Cat is about a crazy cat lady who seeks to help lonely people by lending her cats to them, since they’re the key to happiness... despite being lonely herself. It’s a series of vignettes that shows people needing cats in their lives, and upon receiving them, how much better they are as a result. And all presented with the same matter-of-fact articulation of people, places, and things that Japanese cinema does best. The fact that it’s an independent production, helmed by an outsider of Japan’s cinematic world (the director is actually a woman, which is sadly still quite the rarity over there), definitely helps.

Samurai Cat

Doesn’t the trailer to Samurai Cat look awesome? Yeah, well, I really disliked the movie when I saw it for whatever reason. Sorry. Hence why I’m not even going to bother with a synopsis, though mostly cuz I can’t find my New York Asian Film Festival/JAPAN CUTS review for it. I think its cuz I disliked it so much that I didn’t even want to bother with writing one? Though unlike Rent-A-Cat, which was a festival darling and pretty much that (so good luck tracking down a copy), it’s worth noting that Samurai Cat was successful enough to get a domestic release plus a sequel…

Oh, and the internet tells me of a Neko Nin, which I believe translates to Ninja Cat is either part three or a spin off. Moving on…

If Cats Disappeared From the World

If Cats Disappeared From the World is actually one of the best movies I saw last year. It’s about a young man who lives a quint, almost idyllic existence, until he discovers that a brain tumor may cause him to drop dead at any given moment. He then encounters the devil, posing as a somewhat sinister doppelganger, who says the young man is mostly definitely going to die the following day… though an extra 24 hours can be borrowed, provided something from the world disappears without a trace. This something, btw, is of the devil’s choosing, and we soon discover that stuff like phones and movies, which the young man took for granted, actually had a profound impact on his life, in particular, the ties they helped to establish with loved ones. You can pretty much guess where cats come into play.

Despite certain flaws, including the same one that made me totally reject Samurai Cat, which was trying way too hard to tug at the hear strings, If Cats Disappeared From the World still succeeded, due its unique voice (compared to most maintsream Japanese fare), one delivered by a stellar cast, which is also why Rent-A-Cat was so awesome. Thus far, Neko Atsume no Ie is resembling Rent-A-Cat, at least on a surface level, though I wonder if it’ll have a “message” like If Cats Disappeared From the World. Alas, the production values are on par with Samurai Cat, meaning it’s looking quite slick and mainstream… but hey, given how much money the game made, that’s hardly a shocker.

Guess we’ll wait and see. Oh, and in case anyone is wondering… I’m not including The Adventures of Milo and Otis cuz that starred a dog as well.