The Case of the Grinning Cat

Chris Markers sublime review of the millennium so far.

His camera cuts across the streets of Paris, via the métro, via TV, via the internet. the trite of politicians, the noise of demonstration marches, the poignancy of funeral processions. via the subtle gaze of girls, and the mischievous gaze of M. Chat.

These cuts, put together, provide a document of the previous 4 years, it's roots to the past, and a glimpse of its future.

• to get the most out of this film it helps to know a bit about French current affairs. - note, out of interest, the many references to surrealists, and their cultural legacy.

First off, I give this film the somewhat arbitrary rating of an "8" solely in comparison to other works by Marker (it is quite difficult to rate Marker's films in comparison to anybody else's work but his own -- which is unfortunate since no one has come along in the last fifty years who makes films on par with his -- if Lynch delved into nonfiction he might come close...). As a form of cinematic essay it is both provocative and meditative: "Grinning Cat" makes keen observations and provides insightful commentary on the current state of political activism and also plays with our expectations about non-fiction film-making, inviting contemplation on the ambiguity of reading visual culture. The film's structure feeds the viewer's interest while challenging our ability to readily take what we see as "pure fact." The politically-oriented commentary is poetically delivered and is a much needed dose of analysis that those of us in North America are rarely given in more popular, didactically political fiction and nonfiction films. Like a piece o abstract art or thickly composed piece of literature, Marker's latest film deserves and requires a second, perhaps even a third, look. It's film for reflection and contemplation, and perhaps even a call to action.

I really hated this.

Firstly, it was horribly shot - basically the editing and picture quality was comparable to a Handicam movie.

The narration was infuriating and the concept incredibly muddled.

In the end it was a documentary about almost nothing.

Was it about war, urban subcultural memes or both? It ended up not really being about neither.

Very disappointing.

Thank god it was only one hour long.

The extras on the DVD are even more depressingly pointless.

I don't understand how this even made it to DVD.

One of my favorite films of all time is Sans Soleil, so of course every Chris Marker film has to be held up to that masterpiece in evaluating its merits. I also love cats, and I might be seduced to like this film just for the cat theme, but I found that the political pointedness of the film--Marker clearly has very strong opinions about all of the major events of the twenty-first century to date--makes it less palatable than his other works. Which is not, however, to say that I necessarily disagree with him. In fact, I was among the group of Americans Against the War at the march in Paris in March 2003, footage of which is included at about minute 31. But my narcissism isn´t quite enough to mar my aesthetic judgment. This film is just not as good as Marker´s others efforts. The tone reminds me of the general attitude of liberals in the United States, that everything has been settled, and if you disagree, then you are an idiot. And, yes, I am a liberal, if anyone is, and of course I am vehemently opposed to my country´s predatory wars. Still, I don´t think that everything is obviously settled a priori, and I do not believe that everyone who disagrees with me is a fool.