Mar
28
2009
Gou Gou, The Cat
Posted by luna6 Leave a Comment
Movie: Gou Gou, The Cat
Release Date: September 6, 2008
Country: Japan
Director: Isshin Inudo
Starring: Kyoko Koizumi, Juri Ueno
Runtime: 116 min.
Editor Rating: 7.5
Users Rating: 7 
(11 votes)
Loading …
“Gou Gou, The Cat,” based on Yumiko Oshima’s autobiographical manga “Gū-gū datte Neko de aru,” is the latest film from Japanese director Isshin Inudo. Isshin Inudo is the director of such indie favorites as “Josee, the Tiger and the Fish” and “La Maison de Himiko”. He’s also responsible for the overtly commercial stinker “Yellow Tears.” Having never seen Inudo’s “All About My Dog,” “Gou Gou, the Cat” has a unique feel compared to the other mentioned Inudo films. The movie prominently features a cat in its story line, but never relegates itself to an overly cute storyline that only die-hard animal lovers could love. Rather, the movie features a delicate human interest story that will likely reverberate with a broad spectrum of movie going fans (especially adults) long after the movie is finished.
Asako Kojima (Kyoko Koizumi) is a talented manga artist in her early forties. She’s currently experiencing a lengthy dry spell in her creative output. The cause of her dry spell goes back to the death of her cat Ca Va, who lived with her for the past 15 years. After fluctuating back and forth on whether to find a new a cat, Asako finally wills herself to enter a pet store. There she comes across an American shorthair silver tabby whom she takes home and names “Gou Gou.” Meanwhile, her manga assistant Naomi goes through a mini-crisis of her own.
“Gou Gou, The Cat” is told in a minimalistic style, usually calm & never rushed. Kyoko Koizumi’s character interprets the world in the same inquisitive manner as her cherished pet. Always observant of her surroundings she processes the world around her internally, but rarely expresses her emotions. With such a stoic character, the movie needs a counter-balance to Kyoko’s character and this of course falls on the always affable Juri Ueno. Juri provides laughs and her unique goofiness, the kind that we’ve seen in such films as “Swing Girls,” “Summer Time Machine Blues,” “Turtles Swim Faster Than Expected” and “Arch Angels.” Also, although her appearance is modest (casual clothes and not a lot of make-up), she looks as attractive in this film as anything she has done in the past. There’s also Ryo Kase, who turned in a surprisingly off the mark performance in “10 Promises to My Dog,” rebounding with a strong supporting role as Kyoko Koizumi’s love interest. There’s also ex-Megadeath guitarist & now Tokyo resident, Marty Friedman, playing a pivotal supporting role not that far off from Takeshi Kaneshiro’s role in “Sweet Rain.”
The pacing of “Gou Gou, The Cat” is always laid back, but never feels slow. Imagine if you will, laying out in the sun during a balmy summer afternoon. “Gou Gou, The Cat” uses this type of dreamy feel to tell its delicate story of a woman’s battle with loneliness and how it relates to her pet cats. However, not everything in “Gou Gou, The Cat” is a slam-dunk. The scene in the hospital with the girls performing their cheerleading routine felt flat, probably because we’ve already seen in that in “Hula Girls.” Ryo Case should have been used more and the two male musicians felt like an out of place appeal for commercialism. With that said, there’s a lot to love with “Gou Gou, The Cat.” Kyoko Koizumi and Juri Ueno are both ace in their respective roles, the soundtrack is nearly perfect, and the feel of the movie is as dreamy as anything you’ll come across this year. “Gou Gou, The Cat” is a lovely film that’s impressively refined.
buy Gou Gou, The Cat from YesAsia
Cast:
* Kyoko Koizumi – Asako Kojima
* Juri Ueno – Naomi
* Ryo Kase – Seiji Sawamura
* Naojiro Hayashi – Mamoru
* Marty Friedman – Paul Weinberg
* Tatsuya Isaka – Tatsuya
* Denden – Kajiwara
* Asei Kobayashi – Taisuke Yamamoto
* Kazuko Kurosawa – Michiko
* Chieko Matsubara – Asako’s mother
* Hiroki Murakami – Tanaka
* Tomoko Murakami – Sakie
* Suzuka Ohgo – Saba Ingan
* Miyuki Oshima – Kanako
* Ai Takabe – Kyoko
* Tetsushi Tanaka – Editor-in-Chief Kyonto
* Hiroshi Yamamoto – Kobayashi
* Erisa Yanagi – Erika
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
2008 Movie Reviews, Japanese Movies, Movie Reviews, Movies |