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Filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda observes their coexistence
Narrative
A large colony of cats inhabits a Shinto shrine. Residents take care of them; others are disturbed by clutter.
Of course, dogs are better than cats
The Serious Programmer, who introduced the UK premiere of this documentary at the 2024 London Film Festival, used the phrase “non-human animals” more than once; – wakeism is coming to the animal kingdom! But director Kazuhiro Sôda was an engaging guy, taking selfies with the audience – distracting from his ominous claim that he worked without doing any research…
We see them being fed by well-wishers, being caught, being ‘fixed’, sharing food with their kitties, etc
However, cats inhabiting a Shinto shrine in a small Japanese coastal town are likely to charm even non-feline fans. But it’s not all about cats: humans also appear, in sequences such as the endless committee meeting and cleaning up after a typhoon.
So can we really say that what we see is accurate?
The problem with making an 'observational film' of this kind, there is little chance that people with a camera pointed at them will actually behave as they normally do – so how much will the documentary maker be changed by the mere fact of their presence? But in presenting a slice of Japanese life, the film is worth watching at least once.
https://akmecgroup.com/2024/10/freedom-2024-multi-brrip-torrent/