The Cats of Mirikitani

Forget the title—this film is no nature documentary, said Jeannette Catsoulis in The New York Times. The Cats of Mirikitani is the biography of an octogenarian homeless man of Japanese descent who paints pictures of cats under the awning of a New York City grocery store. Filmmaker Linda Hattendorf invites Mr. Mirikitani to stay with her in September 2001, when the dust from the World Trade Center poses a danger to the old man's health. He tells her of his life, 'œa fascinating story of injustice and endurance.' It's a tale 'œmore far-fetched and coincidental than anything a writer of fiction would dare conceive,' said S. James Snyder in The New York Sun. Jimmy Mirikitani was born in Sacramento, raised in Japan, and returned to America before World War II. Like other Japanese-Americans, he was interned for the duration, and half his family was killed in the bombing of Hiroshima. Hattendorf helps him find family, housing, and new faith in American ideals, said V.A. Musetto in the New York Post. Unfortunately, Hattendorf becomes more interested in her own altruism than in her subject—she 'œinsists on inserting herself in what seems like every other scene, a device that dilutes Jimmy's story.'

Rating: Not Rated

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