Summary
For anyone who has ever looked at their cat and wondered if it is plotting violent domination, then herein lies the action-packed and very funny answer to that question.
It opens on a group of women dressed in white, standing on a hill and serving up some serious Hanging Rock realness. As an axe falls, and an unknown prisoner is fed like a cat, you may wonder what you’ve gotten yourself into with Reiki Tsuno’s debut feature. You may spend the rest of the running time trying to figure that out as well.
Taka (Sho Mineo) has been living a shiftless life ever since his archeologist brother Mune (So Yamanaka) went missing, spending his days in a trailer and threatening his demanding European landlord with deportation when she dares ask for the rent. When he receives a mysterious recording with clues to his brother’s location, he is off like a shot to find Mune.
What sounds like a solid setup takes a rapid left turn into the bizarre when Taka begins to encounter a strange collective of warrior women with catlike abilities. Uncovering a plot that connects ancient artefacts with supernatural catnip, Taka is joined by a homeless man with nothing else going on and a gun-toting woman who knows more than she is letting on.
Filled with non sequiturs, over the top action set-pieces, and characters that are more inspired by cartoons than action films, MAD CATS is the kind of film that you ride along with rather than watch. As the audience, we really just keep pace alongside Taka, who seems to be genuinely reacting to every new weird scene that he encounters.
Tsuno, who released the cult short film Crying Bitch a few years ago, wears his influences right there on his shirtsleeves. From the 1950s US inspired diner sequence to the epic martial arts and sword-swinging pieces, Tsuno happily ticks off some favourite bits of inspiration while gently poking fun at entire tropes produced by the action franchise machinery.
From a technical point of view, the film is stunningly shot by cinematographer Shintaro Teramoto, who recently did amazing things with Wonderful Paradise. (Indeed, there’s a little bit of Yamamoto Masashi’s insanity in this film’s DNA). Pristine landscape shots look like they could have stepped out of neo-Western, and the obvious and deliberate use of rear projection during key driving sequences gives the whole thing a retro vibe.
“For all the innocent lives, past and future, taken away by selfish devils,” declares a mid-credits dedication. “Humans will fear the sound of MAD CATS coming for you.” While it would be folly to even pretend that we know what this means, it’s perfectly in keeping with the irreverent and chaotic philosophy of the movie. Like the cats of the title, it scratches and knocks random things off the table, but it’s still going to be one of your favourite feisty felines.
2023 | Japan | DIRECTOR: Reiki Tsuno | WRITERS: Reiki Tsuno | CAST: Sho Mineo, Yuya Matsuura, Ayane, Michael Aaron Stone, So Yamanaka | DISTRIBUTOR: Fantasia Film Festival | RUNNING TIME: 88 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 20 July – 9 August 2022 (Fantasia)
