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The Cats of Mirikitani |
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 Release Date: / / (Future Release)
Starring: Jimmy Mirikitani, Tsutomu Mirikitani
Director: Linda Hattendorf
Rating: (NR) |
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Genre |
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Documentary |
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Running Time |
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74 min |
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Distributor |
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Public Broadcasting Service |
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 Official Website |
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NEW YORK REVIEW
Linda Hattendorf's The Cats of Mirikitani won the audience-favorite prize at last year's Tribeca Film Festival, and it was my favorite, too. It's one of the best kinds of documentaries—not calculated but serendipitous. An accident. A miracle. As you see in the opening scenes, Hattendorf becomes fascinated by a homeless, rather dotty 80-year-old Japanese-American artist named Jimmy Mirikitani, who lives and sleeps in the vicinity of her apartment near Washington Square Park. She buys some pictures from him and thinks, Hmmm, maybe he'd be a good subject. Then, on September 11, planes crash into the World Trade Center, and Hattendorf rushes to find Jimmy. She lets him sleep in her apartment—where together they watch reports of violence against Arab-Americans. Bingo! It turns out that during World War II, Jimmy was a prisoner in a California internment camp—and the aftermath of 9/11 brings up traumas long buried. By the time Hattendorf and Jimmy make their way to California for a reunion of internment-camp survivors, you'll feel your own narrow vision has been liberated.
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