About people and cats Beautiful gray cat Gu-Gu runs along the paths of the park, along the city streets, on the roofs of houses and fences, drawing the attention of passers-by, making them smile, and connecting thoughts and hearts with an involuntary thought: “It’s a good day!” Goo-gu will return to his mistress Asako, a lonely 35-year-old woman, a talented and successful manga. While Asako may not have forgotten her recently deceased beloved cat, Sa Wa, who has been with her for 16 years, and her life may not always be serene, Gu-gu will still help her regain her vital harmony.
If you have ever, reading manga, paid attention to the column on the left page, where mangaki communicate with readers, then you probably formed the opinion that mangaka - something like Einstein from manga - with always ruffled hair, crazy look and strange sometimes hobbies and addictions. But the mangaka Asako, the main character of the movie "The Cat Named Gu-Gu", does not correspond to this stereotype. A little detached, dreamy and quiet, Asako devotes almost all his time to work - drawing manga. It’s no surprise, though, that manga is something she’s wanted to do since childhood. But in this tape, you will not see the success story of mangaki, no, and you will not see typical everyday mangaki with “burdened” deadlines either. Only a little bit. But if you want, you will understand how mangaki find plots for their stories, and what personal pain can hide behind strong, tearful stories on paper.
Cats live several times faster than humans. So SaVa, by cat standards, lived a long life next to her mistress. But what if a person began to age so rapidly? “Will you love me if I get very old?” asks the heroine of the new manga Asako – a young girl with Werner syndrome, and rapidly aging. Did the death of a beloved cat lead to such a plot, or did the acquaintance with a younger man, or both? Like any creator, all Asako's feelings and emotions go into creativity, giving rise to new original ideas.
Despite the fact that the central figure of the film is Asako, “The Cat named Gu-Gu” is not a story only about the mistress of Gu-Gu. At times, the story is conducted on behalf of her young student, experiencing her first serious love and rapidly growing up, and at times - from a mysterious long-haired guy in leather pants (played by Marty Friedman, au, metalworkers!), who on his journey through the cozy Japanese streets is accompanied by a charming white cat. And let the plot is not integral and not subordinated to only one idea - the charm of the film is not lost. Fans of anime and Japanese dramas will feel a familiar atmosphere in this film: seriousness at the right moment is diluted with light humor, and a slightly ridiculous comedy suddenly turns into a life drama. And all this to the sounds of shamisen and melancholy melodies.
Everyday life. It sounds boring, but not when it comes to Japanese cinema. After all, no one, except the Japanese, can not so sentimentally and beautifully show the ordinary everyday life of ordinary people who just work, meet, fall in love, part... just live. Here is the film “Cat named Gu-Gu” directed by Issin Inudo – a pleasant example of “everyday” Japanese cinema: warm and gentle colors, as if saturated with the spring sun, only gaining strength; hidden deep in the soul feelings, guessed only by an unnaturally frozen face; and, of course, unobtrusive reflections on life and death – subtle but clear strokes. Like a manga.