The Case of the Grinning Cat

2004

58m

Documentary

List

94%

18 Reviews

Tomatometer

74%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Filmmaker Chris Marker follows the trail of graffiti cats and -- in the process -- documents recent French history.

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John Monaghan

Detroit Free Press

[Director] Marker may be windy, but he also enjoys the wisdom that comes with age. His masterful command of the camera shows that he can lecture and entertain at the same time.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 5, 2007

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Wesley Morris

Boston Globe

The Case of the Grinning Cat is further evidence of Chris Marker's exhilarating wit. His hour-long cinema essay offers a snapshot of France that's been realized in Marker's daydreamy developer fluid.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jan 20, 2007

Full Review

Frank Scheck

Hollywood Reporter

Demonstrates that this cinematic provocateur [director Chris Marker] has lost little of his gift for social observation.

Jan 3, 2007

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

The Case of the Grinning Cat will further damage the (overblown) reputation of French filmmaker Chris Marker.

Feb 14, 2021

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A playful 58-minute documentary.

Rated: B+

Apr 15, 2008

Full Review

Karina Longworth

Cinematical

Feels like Marker's attempt to implicitly reconcile his own advanced age...one is bound to see history repeat itself in full, ignorant swing, if one lives long enough.

Feb 1, 2008

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Audience Member

Interesting documentary on the atmosphere in Paris around 2001. The filmmaker uses the mysterious drawings of a grinning cat that appear all over the city to talk about several topics. However, this movie would have benefited from some editing to make the transitions between topics a bit smoother.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

In watching this I had to decide what it was a product of... Drugs? Boredom? Insufficient creativity to carry out an interesting idea? My friend and I convened on old age trying to rediscover youth. If you are into political protest, you might really like The Case of the Grinning Cat. I am not, and this must have intimate links with my increasing boredom and listlessness while viewing the footage. I was in Paris for part of the period documented, and the anti-war protest I attended may well have been one of those featured here. But the attempt to connect the (fictional) graffiti cats appearing all over Paris to some overarching historical symbolism didn't move me at all. The Case of the Grinning Cat is undeniably a different movie. The same things that I dislike about it would probably make it a unique pleasure to someone with different tastes.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Pee Euw. An arrogant, meanderingly lost film with bad camerawork and obnoxious voice over. Hardly goes anywhere and accomplishes nothing more than showing how people waste time, which wastes yours.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The Case of the Grinning Cat is about as haphazardly and half-heartedly interesting as Marker's fleeting interest in and overview of protesting and demonstrations. Though it's a luxury that a documentarian exists who would even bring us the story of a mystery graffiti cat's involvement with anti-war protesting, and though the ending is Marker at his teasingly poignant best, the mystery in the end is all there is. What really makes this DVD worth renting is the extra short called Three Cheers for the Whale, a 16-minute slide-show poem about the history of whale slaughter.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Le Chat is a silent revolution. Utterly brilliant.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I like Chris Marker, but I just wasn't taken by this film. I actually enjoyed the short films that came on the DVD beside the feature much better.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Chris Marker follows the trail of graffiti cats and -- in the process -- documents recent French history.

Director: Chris Marker
Screenwriter: Chris Marker
Production Co: Arte France Cinema
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: French (Canada)
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jul 21, 2006
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 25, 2017
Runtime: 58m

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