Original Title: Meshi

Directed by: Mikio Naruse

This review contains a slight Kitty Carnage Warning!

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

Synopsis: Michiyo Okamoto (Setsuko Hara) is an unhappy housewife living with her husband Hatsunosuke (Ken Uehara) is a quiet part of Osaka.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Michiyo owns an adorable Japanese Bobtail kitten named Yuri. At the beginning of the film, she calls the cat who is walking across the tiled roof.

Inside the house Yuri shows up for breakfast.

Michiyo is living a life of quiet desperation. She spends her day being nothing but a housewife for a husband who shows no great ambition and makes little money. Yuri is her one bright spot and she loves the kitten more than her spouse.

Things become even more strained when Hatsunosuke’s niece Satoko (Yukiko Shimazaki) shows up unexpectedly after running away from home. There is an obvious affection between the niece and her uncle and it almost appears as if Satoko would like their relationship to be something more. This drives an even deeper wedge between Michiyo and Hatsunosuke.

Yuri appears occasionally throughout the film.

When Hatsunosuke comes home drunk after a business meeting one night, Michiyo angrily waits for him, petting Yuri.

Slight Kitty Carnage Warning! In one scene, Satoko has Yuri on her lap. She treats the kitten roughly, pulling on her paws and holding her up by the scruff as she makes a nasty face.

Eventually Michiyo has had enough and takes Satoko back to Tokyo with plans to stay there herself. Michiyo worries about having left Yuri with a neighbor, Mrs. Taniguchi. While she is away, Michiyo seems to worry more about Yuri than she does her husband. Meanwhile, poor Yuri is sitting on the rooftop, looking sad and forlorn.

Back home, word has gotten out that Michiyo has left her husband. One of her single friends, Koyoshi Dohya (Ranko Hanai) swoops in and makes subtle advances to him. Yuri approaches the woman who suddenly screams and leaps up into Hatsunosuke’s arms. She shyly explains that she hates cats.

Kitty Cameo: In Tokyo, Michiyo sees another cat on some roof tiles and she calls to it. This seems to make her homesick for Yuri. Yuri is not seen again but Michiyo does eventually return home.

Final Mewsings: Leaving your husband is easier than leaving your cat.

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