Alley Cat

A gentle, offbeat mix of melancholy and whimsy, following two odd men whose shared affection for a stray cat leads them into a quietly earnest fight against injustice.

Directed by

Hideo Sakaki

Genres

Comedy, Crime, Drama

Starring

Yosuke Kubozuka, Kenji Furuya, Yui Ichikawa

Overview

A depressed ex-boxer (Yosuke Kubozuka) self-medicating for the injuries that ended his career finds a stray cat that brightens his day, but she is snatched up by a comical grungy mechanic (Kenji Furuya). Calling each other by the competing names they gave the cat, Maru and Lily, the odd pair is abruptly sucked into a political conspiracy with Saeko (Yui Ichikawa) and her son at the center. Witnessing another injustice in which the economic and social elite prey on the vulnerable, the two strays set off on the road to redemption, or at least peaceful cat ownership. (Fun fact: in addition to acting together in Alley Cat, Yosuke Kubozuka and Kenji “KJ” Furuya released the single “Soul Ship” in 2017. Kubozuka performs as Manji Line and Furuya in the band Dragon Ash.) -JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film

How it feels

Melancholic, whimsical, satirical and earnest. Measured and needs your attention.

About

Redemption, isolation, friendship, class

Content

Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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