by Mark Murton
Original Chinese title: Chúbào
Directed by: Ho Leung Lau
Synopsis: Set in 1990s southern China, this fact-based thriller follows detective Zhong Cheng (Qianyuan Wang) as he tracks the “Eagle Gang,” a sophisticated, well-trained, and ruthless group of robbers led by gangster Zhang Sun (Daniel Wu), over the course of several years.
Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): After eighty-plus frenetic minutes of car chases, shoot-outs and explosions the film climaxes with a showdown between Cheng and Sun in a bathhouse. The men engage in a protracted fistfight and during a lull when they both stop to catch their breath the camera cuts away to an incongruous shot of a curious calico kitten sitting nearby.
There’s no indication of where the kitten came from and once the fight resumes she isn’t seen again.
Final Mewsings: Bathhouse kittens have seen everything.
Relevant Links:
To discuss this film and other cats in movies and on television, join us on Facebook and Twitter.