The Case of the Grinning Cat (2004)

In his most recent film, Chris Marker reflects on art, culture and politics at the start of the new millennium by embarking on a cinematic journey through Paris to track down the mysterious appearances of grinning yellow cat paintings all over the city.

Plus 7 Bonus Films!

- A Bestiary (5 short films on animals):
Cat Listening to Music (3 min.)
An Owl is an Owl is an Owl (3 min.)
Zoo Piece (3 min.)
Bullfight in Okinawa (4 min.)
Slon Tango (4 min.)

- Three Cheers for the Whale (17 min.)
Co-directed with Mario Ruspoli

- Leila Attacks (1min.)

Product Description

I don't know...

After seeing La Jetee, The Case of the Grinning Cat felt like a disappointment. The film is like a walk through Paris after 9/11, Marker follows protesters against Bush, Chirac, the Iraq war etc etc. Interspersed btwn the protests and related stuff are sightings of graffitti in the form of a grinning yellow cat (see the dvd cover). Marker finds this a mystery and tries to document the phenomenon. Here also follows some meditations on the cat as a symbol, and how it appears in stories like Alice in Wonderland etc.
The cat part is the interesting part of this film. It reminds of the Glaneuse-movie by Markers french new wave collegaue Agnes Varda (but Vardasfilm is much better). Anyway, the cat is intriguing and Markers quest to find out more about it begins well. But what is less interesting is the protest-part of the film. This feels so non original and flat. And why do I have to hear Markers smug remarks upon the validity of the protests, especially when they just reproduce the streamline leftist view? Boring. This is interesting only as a document of the times around 2001 in Paris with protests against government and Bush. And the problem is that Marker seems to become so fascinated by the protests that he forgets the cat (ok, he sees the cat on a sign in one of the marches against something, and this is obviously super interesting to Marker).
And can someone explain to me the last 10 minutes of the film? What has this story about an artist-turned-murderer got to do with anything? And what about the cat?
Bottom line: this film is worth watching, esp if you're into Marker and french film, but I can't really say that it is worth paying $25 for. September 11, 2008

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