Rent-a-Cat

A charmer of a film, dealing with loneliness and isolation in the modern world in an original way. No matter what your relationship with cats is, there is something beautiful and sweet about a young woman renting out cats in order to make the world a better place, one person at the time. Equipped with a megaphone and a trolley filled with cats, Sayoko wanders around her neighbourhood looking for anyone who needs a cat to keep them company. What she’s doing when she is not renting out cats, stays somewhat of a mystery. Her kindness, however, is unquestionable. The same goes for her ability to connect with her clients, whether it is the two or the four-legged kind. Rent-a-cat deals with a topic we have seen dealt with before. But rarely have we seen loneliness and isolation portrayed so gently and entertainingly as director Naoko Ogigami does here. This may not be the film if you are looking for the darker sides of life. But if you, on the other hand feel that life is good, or at least wish it was, then Rent-a-cat is a must-see.

Naoko Ogigami is a Japanese director and screenwriter that made her feature film debut with Barber Yoshino back in 2004. Since then, her films have been screened at countless festivals all over the world. In Norway she is most famous for Glasses (2007) which screened at cinemas in 2009. Rent-a-cat is her sixth feature film.