IMDb RATING
7.6/10
16K
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A profile of an ancient city and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.A profile of an ancient city and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.A profile of an ancient city and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.
- Awards
- 6 wins & 21 nominations total
Featured reviews
8vsks
You forget Turkey's difficult politics watching this documentary by Turkish filmmaker Ceyda Torun and cinematographer Charlie Wuppermann about Istanbul's Big Romance with—cats! (What did you think "Kedi" means?) At an hour twenty-minutes, the film is somewhat longer than it might be, but as a vacation from the news cycle, perhaps not long enough. The residents of Istanbul don't "own" most of the cats that roam their streets and markets, that nest in quiet places and makeshift hideaways. But they more than tolerate them, they celebrate them. And the cats, meanwhile, act like "slumming royals," says Joe Leydon in Variety. You can see the cast here. A number of the featured felines rule the neighborhoods where they live, defending their turf against interlopers and providing benefits to the humans. "They absorb my negative energy," one man says. A waterside restaurant owner who'd had a problem with "mice" (I fear this was a euphemism) celebrated the day "this lion took up residence." She takes care of the "mice," to the comfort of the diners, I'm sure. My particular favorite was the cat who lives at a deli. She never goes inside, but paws at the window—rather insistently, it should be noted—when she wants one of the countermen to make her a snack. The filmmakers identified a number of the city's human residents whose mission seems to be to keep these felines in food. One pair of women cooks twenty pounds of chicken a day for them. (!) "All of us have tabs with all the vets," says a bakery owner, and we see a man take an injured kitten to the vet in a taxi.. In short, the film is charming. It talks about how cats are different than dogs. And it shows how caring for the cats has been helpful to people in many ways. Suitable for all ages, and especially for those who have—or wish they had—been to Istanbul and now are reluctant to go because of paragraph one above. As Leydon says, it's "splendidly graceful and quietly magical."
"Kedi" (2016 release from Turkey; 80 min.) is a documentary about the thousands of stray cats (street cats) all over Istanbul. As the movie opens, we get a fabulous aerial view of the city, and then get to know a number of cats, starting with a female cat who is out hunting food on the streets, not for herself but as it turns out for her small kittens who are anxiously waiting her return. And that's just the start of this...
Couple of comments: if you don't care for cats, then by all means do yourself a favor and seek out another movie. If on the other hand you love cats, you are in for an absolutely delightful treat. Apparently as we learn in this film, Istanbul, itself a huge metropolis, is home to many street cats, and the city's population (at least for the most part) has taken upon itself to care for these cats, and to outright love them. The movie focuses on a handful of cats, all of them with their own personality (the "fish thief", the "carefree", the "flirt", etc.). A number of shots are filmed from the cat's perspective (i.e. close to ground level). Along the way, we get a fabulous look of what day-to-day life in Istanbul is like. At one point a woman comments "it is difficult for women to express their femininity in this country, but the cats do it so gracefully", a dig as to the social environment for women in Turkey, even in a cosmopolitan city like Istanbul. But in the end, it's all about the cats: they hunt, they play, they roam the streets, they fight, they climb, and along the way they steal your heart.
I had heard a glowing review of "Kedi" on NPR a week or two ago and when "Kedi" opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, I couldn't wait to see it. The Friday evening where I saw this at was PACKED, much to my surprise, and the audience absolutely LOVED the movie, laughing out loud many times throughout the movie. After the movie was over, I couldn't wait to get home, where I knew my beloved cat Mimic would be waiting for me ;-) If you love cats, you don't want to miss this, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "Kedi" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Couple of comments: if you don't care for cats, then by all means do yourself a favor and seek out another movie. If on the other hand you love cats, you are in for an absolutely delightful treat. Apparently as we learn in this film, Istanbul, itself a huge metropolis, is home to many street cats, and the city's population (at least for the most part) has taken upon itself to care for these cats, and to outright love them. The movie focuses on a handful of cats, all of them with their own personality (the "fish thief", the "carefree", the "flirt", etc.). A number of shots are filmed from the cat's perspective (i.e. close to ground level). Along the way, we get a fabulous look of what day-to-day life in Istanbul is like. At one point a woman comments "it is difficult for women to express their femininity in this country, but the cats do it so gracefully", a dig as to the social environment for women in Turkey, even in a cosmopolitan city like Istanbul. But in the end, it's all about the cats: they hunt, they play, they roam the streets, they fight, they climb, and along the way they steal your heart.
I had heard a glowing review of "Kedi" on NPR a week or two ago and when "Kedi" opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, I couldn't wait to see it. The Friday evening where I saw this at was PACKED, much to my surprise, and the audience absolutely LOVED the movie, laughing out loud many times throughout the movie. After the movie was over, I couldn't wait to get home, where I knew my beloved cat Mimic would be waiting for me ;-) If you love cats, you don't want to miss this, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "Kedi" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
I normally steer well clear of any film involving our animal friends as something terrible usually happens to them. It is upsetting enough in real life without having to endure it in a film as well. Kedi is not like that & you can safely watch without fear of any sadness. It might even restore your faith in human beings. The people who interact with the cats in this documentary are all kind. Even the big rough & tough fishermen have a caring approach to the animals.
With so many documentaries around about people doing awful things to other people & things it is extremely refreshing to have something like this film to give some balance. I had a smile on my face the entire two hour run time.
If you are an animal person, especially if you like cats, I absolutely, highly recommend this lovely documentary to you.
Kedi is a must watch for all cat lovers. The culture of Istanbul and how cats are an integral part of it is astonishing. The humans speak frankly about how they love cats and how it affects their lives in a positive way. But through their words, it's the joy of sharing their love for cats that we see the most, cats are a significant part of their lives that keep them alive inside among all the chaos in the world. For some people, this new perspective would only be felt if they watch this film. There's some mesmerizing camera work throughout the film. The cat level shots, symmetric shots sometimes using mirrors and windows, the close-up shots of cats, the ariel shots etc and all this is in a documentary about street level cats. It must've been one hell of a job making this film. There are nine cats featured in here but they had shot much more than that. Ceyda Torun is definitely a talent to look out for in the future.
This movie was wonderful. Whether you're a cat lover or not, it's hilarious, poignant, and amazingly well-shot.
The cinematography of capturing so many cats at play, fighting, protecting their babies, etc. must have been absolutely grueling, so huge kudos to the filmmakers for presenting a work which so obviously shows care was taken to get these amazing visuals.
Kedi is a love letter to the cats of Istanbul, and their guardian angels who keep them fed and sheltered. Go see it!
The cinematography of capturing so many cats at play, fighting, protecting their babies, etc. must have been absolutely grueling, so huge kudos to the filmmakers for presenting a work which so obviously shows care was taken to get these amazing visuals.
Kedi is a love letter to the cats of Istanbul, and their guardian angels who keep them fed and sheltered. Go see it!
Did you know
- TriviaThe cat-level action cam was mounted on a remote-control toy car.
- Quotes
Unnamed Human Resident of Istanbul: Dogs think people are God, but cats don't. Cats are aware of God's existence. Cats know that people act as middlemen to God's will. They're not ungrateful, they just know better.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Film Junk Podcast: Episode 601: Get Out (2017)
- How long is Kedi?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,835,047
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $40,103
- Feb 12, 2017
- Gross worldwide
- $5,037,923
- Runtime1 hour 19 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Kedi : Des chats et des hommes (2016) officially released in India in English?
Answer