for Cinetalk.net
Turkish director Ceyda Torun’s Kedi propose a singular look at the city of Istanbul through the eyes of its emblematic inhabitant: the street cat.
Ceyda Torun, who grew up in Istanbul, provides numerous portraits of individual felines with an obvious sympathetic view of an animal arguably very difficult to shoot with. Today’s light camera offer the opportunity to trail the furry beast and follow it in its footsteps and into alley cats territory. The shooting certainly took a lot of patience. And it is the most rewarding asset of the project.
A feature that goes beyond the cat video, while sharing its cuteness, Kedi unfortunately runs slightly out of gas halfway through. It introduces some insight and stories about the pussy invasion within the walls of the city but it simply does not furnish enough content to fill 80 minutes. These links about the immigration of our fellow with claws should have been extended to keep it going. But it simply doesn’t. Still, Kedi is a pleasurable adventure into the world of our favorite flea bag.
First date movie? Sure.
*** For Montrealers, the film started May 26th at Cinéma du Parc.
