Die Katzen vom Gokogu-Schrein

The earnest programmer who introduced the British premiere of this documentary at the 2024 London Film Festival used, more than once, the phrase "non-human animals" - wokeism comes to the animal kingdom! But director Kazuhiro Sôda was an engaging chap, taking a selfie with the audience - which distracted from his unpromising assertion that he worked without doing any research...

It is, of course, unquestionable that dogs are superior to cats. However, even non-fans of felines are likely to be enchanted by the cats inhabiting the Shinto shrine in a small Japanese coastal town. We see them being fed by well-wishers, being caught to be 'fixed', sharing food with their kittens, etc. But it is not all cats: humans feature as well, in sequences such as an interminable committee meeting and clearing up after a typhoon.

The problem with making an 'observational film' of this sort is the small likelihood that people with a camera pointed at them actually behave as they normally do - so how much does the documentary-maker change by the mere fact of their presence? As a result, can we really say what we are seeing is accurate? But in its presentation of a slice of Japanese life, the film is at least worth watching once.