Film Reviews

Take Care of My Cat

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Bae Doo-na
• Details: Subtitles / Korea / 112 mins / (No Cert).

Interesting rather than essential, Take Care of My Cat follows five Korean friends as they graduate from high school and their once intrinsically linked lives take very different paths with the onset of adulthood. All five are growing up (and apart) but they all ultimately find themselves yearning for the innocence and simplicity of their childhood days. And though they do their best to stay in touch, via almost constant text messaging on their mobiles, it becomes apparent that they can't hope to remain permanent fixtures in each other's lives. A gentle coming of age drama, Take Care of My Cat is a well acted piece of filmmaking from Jae-eun Jeong, a writer and director with an acute understanding of the insecurities of youth and one who can coax some very believable performances from his cast. That said, one man's patient character building is another man's narrative inconsistency and after a bright opening, there's a palpable lack of urgency about Take Care of My Cat, which undermines the ultimate impact of the piece.

Review by Garreth Murphy