“Kedi,” an engaging and entertaining documentary about the hundreds of thousands of cats who freely roam the streets of Istanbul, Turkey is a film with numerous traits mirroring its primary subject matter.
Kedi, an 80-minute movie in Turkish with English subtitles, which opened at The Music Box Theatre this past Friday, meanders and saunters along just like a cat. Although it does have a classic, traditional beginning and ending, it doesn’t have the typical structure of your standard documentary.
It sets its own rules and it comes and goes as it pleases, just like the felines chronicled. It’s flow perfectly complements the type of kitties being profiled, and the metropolis on display. The cats in the Turkish capital are neither domesticated nor wild; they are somewhere in the middle ground.
They are not feral, nor are they house pets. These kitty cats simply embody the old belief all animal lovers know well that: “the cat chooses the human, not vice versa.”
Hundreds of thousands of cats have been freely roaming the Turkish capital for centuries, way back to the days when the city was known as Constantinople.
It’s the perfect setting for a doc about animals that straddle two worlds, and perhaps belong to neither, or both. Istanbul itself is both Middle Eastern and Western, or perhaps neither, or maybe both.
The classification of both the city and the cats is debatable, but what’s absolute is the joy and purpose to these cats bring to the people that they have chosen to adopt.
As the promotional write-up for Kedi states: “In Istanbul, cats are the mirrors to the people, allowing them to reflect on their lives in ways nothing else could.”
Kedi is filled with emotional stories about how the cats have enriched the people’s lives, and in one man’s case, actually saved him. One Turkish resident, who suffered a nervous breakdown several years ago, explains how the cats did for him what prescription drugs and therapy could not- bring him both tranquility and purpose.
Kedi features numerous passionate and inspirational quotes about life and life with cats that you could easily get moved to tears.
“When a cat is at your feet, meowing, looking up at you, life is smiling on you, reminding you that you are alive.”
“In Istanbul, the cat is more than just a cat. The cat embodies the indescribable chaos, the culture, and the uniqueness that is the essence of Istanbul.”
– Y. Barlas
“If you cannot love animals, then you cannot love people.”
Below is the Kedi trailer:
It’s a film that’s both serious and fun, and it comes along at exactly the perfect time. All of us in the northern latitudes are currently suffering though the winter blahs, coupled with the dark turn that current events in our country have taken this past month. For far too many people in America, these are not light-hearted, bright sunshine days.
Kedi is the perfect fun, escapism from all that, not just in the cats themselves but also the scenic backdrop.
Director Ceyda Turan (who shot the film with her husband Charlie Wuppermann and fellow cinematographer Alp Korfali) is an Istanbul native and her hometown is as much a main character here as the seven primary cats who are documented (learn more about these seven charming felines at this link).
The vistas of the mosques, minarets, cityscapes and of course the beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea sublimely supplement the pleasant images of the cats.
The Music Box Theatre in Chicago is located at 3733 North Southport Ave. For further information on Kedi, please visit musicboxtheatre.com
As has been said before, and proven here in Kedi, a house is not a home without a cat.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times and NBC Chicago.com, contributes to Chicago Tribune.com, Bold, WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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