Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

This review contains a slight Kitty Carnage Warning!

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Retired University Professor Hyakken Uchida (Tatsuo Matsumura) continues to garner the respect of his students with his positive attitude during and after World War II.

Featured Felines: After their home is destroyed and The Professor and his wife (Kyôko Kagawa) have lived in a tiny shack, they move into a home built for them by the adult students. The new home has a pond and a garden which brings a large orange and white tabby to their family. The Professor names the cat Nora because he is a stray cat (nora neko) and explains that his wife feeds him dried mackerel so he sticks around. “Besides, he has good physiognomy,” the Professor explains. (The English subtitles say the cat’s name is Alley, but this is likely an Americanized translation).

The students are tickled at the affection the Professor and his wife have for the cat.

The couple is visited by their neighbor and some men who are planning to build a large house right next to theirs, blocking their sun. The Professor sets Nora down to talk to the men and the cat makes it clear he doesn’t like them by arching and hissing.

The neighbor who was selling the land backs out of the agreement when the nasty men won’t be reasonable. The Professor, his wife and students are grateful.

When the student leave, the Professor’s wife cuddles Nora and the Professor begs to have a chance to hold the cat as well.

Later the students hear that Nora is missing and their beloved Professor is distraught. They rush to his aid. He explains how the night Nora disappeared he swears he saw the cat inside a railway station.

Slight Kitty Carnage Warning: The Professor’s wife tells them she let the cat out in the rain that night and that she didn’t think he could find his way home. The Professor is extremely sensitive and empathetic and pictures poor Nora lost in the rain.

Later the Professor imagines Nora making his way through the rubble of World War II bombings in wind and dust. These two scenes only receive mild Kitty Carnage Warnings because the cat actor appeared to be put into these uncomfortable situations.

The students and everyone around helps in the search for Nora. At one point they think the cat has been found, but it turns out to be a false alarm. The students sit with the Professor and his wife in their grief when they hear a meow. A tuxedo cat appears in the hole in the fence where Nora first appeared.

The Professor’s wife hurries to give the cat some dried mackerel. They cat gratefully eats it. Eventually the Professor takes an interest and they adopt the new cat. The Professor names him Kurz, the German word for short since the cat has a short tail. His wife affectionately calls the cat Kuru. Eventually it is explained that Nora never returned and that Kurz lived to a good age. Both cats are memorialized with stones in the garden.

Kitty Cameo: While looking for Nora, the Professor’s wife meets with a couple who says they have found him, only to find it is another orange and white tabby cat.

The Professor in the film is based on real-life Professor Hyakken Uchida, a Japanese scholar and author, whose book entitled Nora Ya (Nora My Lost Cat) was among his many published works.

Final Mewsings: We love our cats so much we are lost without them.

Many thanks to Yayoi Neko for letting us know about the cats in this film!

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