'Kedi' A Review

Kedi is a documentary about street cats in Istanbul. The film follows half a dozen cats and interviews their respective human caretakers/friends. What emerges is, not surprisingly, cute but also offers a striking depiction of the connection humans and animals can have as well as paints a clear portrait of the personalities of the cats and highlights their cultural importance to the city.

The film is a combination of interviews, cityscapes, and shots tracking various cats on their various comings and goings. It, obviously, celebrates cats but it also functions as a love letter to Istanbul itself. We walk the harbor and winding streets with humans and cats alike getting a real feel for the city. Visually sharp and striking whats most impressive is the way the camera follows the cats, on their level, allowing us to see the world from their perspective. And yes the cats do adorable things but the film focuses more on what they mean to the people they interact with, the city in which they inhabit, and who they are individually. The film is sincere not a greeting card gimmick, its able to lightfully almost playfully get at some deeper truths about companionship, nature, life and loss without being over the top or melodramatic. Perfect balance of pleasing and provocative.

Affirming, meditative, and hopeful. What the lives of quasi-feral street cats can teach us about our own.

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