BRIGHT BULB SCREENINGS, Free Double Features Every Second Thursday of the Month
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Cat Lovers Double Feature! (Hosted by Dan Buskirk, WPRB-Princeton, Fleisher Arts)
RENT-A-CAT (2012, directed by Naoko Ogigami, 110 min., Japan)
THE CAT RETURNS (2002, Hiroyuki Morita, 75 min., Japan)
RENT-A-CAT (2012, directed by Naoko Ogigami, 110 min., Japan)
THE CAT RETURNS (2002, Hiroyuki Morita, 75 min., Japan)
Naoko Ogigami's RENT-A-CAT would have to rank near the top of the little-considered genre of “Cat Movies.” Mikako Ichikawa (of 2016's SHIN GODZILLA) is Sayoko, a 30-something woman who lives alone in a quaint Japanese house and pulls her cat-filled cart along the waterway, megaphoning “Rent a Cat!” She comes across other lonely people like herself, making them pass a personal inspection before turning over one of her felines.
Studying film at UCLA, director Ogigami returned to Japan in 2000 to direct a string of humanistic studies that show off her generous wit and sympathy for characters struggling to fit in with modern Japanese life. The director's sure tone keeps RENT-A-CAT's tale from becoming too sweet and Ogigami's plotting is full of clever twists and turns. And of course there's lots of cats, just doing basic cat things. Beyond no animals being harmed, the final credits announce, “This film was produced with respect for the habits and wishes of the animals” A film of immense cat-driven charm, from beginning to end.
“Unlike many other films that explore loneliness as part of modern life, Rent-A-Cat is particularly uplifting with its simple message - that "nothing is better than a cat for when you're feeling lonely."
- Richard Yu, Cinema Escapist
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Only the second feature from the legendary Animation house Studio Ghibli NOT to be directed by Hayao Miyazaki, 2002's THE CAT RETURNS is a spin-off from their 1995 classic, WHISPER OF THE HEART. Haru is a shy high school student who can speak to cats. When she saves a distracted cat from getting struck by a car she soon finds herself serenaded by Lune, Prince of the Cat Kingdom, who is intent on making Haru his bride!
Full of the amorphous wonder found in all of Studio Ghibli's productions, made that much sweeter for feline-lovers since we're enmeshed in the province of pussycats. Anne Hathaway, Cary Elwes, Peter Boyle, Elliott Gould, Kristen Bell and René Auberjonois are among the voice cast.
“An enchanting, magical fable with a twisted vein of surrealism that makes you wonder exactly what they're smoking over there in the Land of the Rising Sun.”
- Neil Smith, BBC
- Neil Smith, BBC