Pleasingly eccentric Portrait-of-a-City documentary on the street cats of Istanbul and the people who care for them. Ceyda Torun, Alp Korfali & Charlie Wuppermann (director & co-lensers) no doubt had the devil of a time filming the half-wild felines on their daily rounds of cafes, hideaways & seafront hangouts (low-angles/tight corners/human obstacles), following them with a commitment (and lack of commentary) Frederick Wiseman would approve of. The variety of cats (a port town, Istanbul’s cats come from around the world to mix & mate) and of kindly humans who care for them (most visiting rather than adopted), provide a unique (if specialized) view of the teeming city. One that probably offers a better, more nuanced view than any traditional architectural/cultural highlight reel could. And there’s a bonus in the rare chance to roam the region without having to tackle weighty political/religious/territorial issues. (Well, other than cat territorial issues.) Though one serious subject does glare out at us: Procreation! Every other cat we meet seems to be tending a new litter of kittens. No neuter-boosting Bob Barker of Turkey?
p.s. That’s ‘Smokey’ on our poster. A restaurant cat with manners. Never begging for food, but waiting for the kitchen to provide a daily sampling of soft cheeses & smoked turkey upon his signal.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Streamed on KANOPY, free in many areas thru your local library. Worth checking out.
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