15th New York Asian Film Festival

Jun 22 - Jul 9, 2016

Photo: © 2016 Toho Co., Ltd. / Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc. / Shogakukan Inc. / Amuse Inc. / Cross Company Inc. / Magazine House Co., Ltd. / Lawson HMV Entertainment , Inc. / Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. / KDDI Corporation / Gyao Corporation / Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Inc.

New York Premiere

If Cats Disappeared from the World

世界から猫が消えたなら

A thirtysomething postman (Sato Takeru) who can't get rid of a stubborn cold goes to the doctor only to find out he is dying from a brain tumor. Stumbling home, where he lives alone with his beloved cat, he is shocked to meet a man (Sato again) who looks exactly like himself. Claiming to be the devil, the stranger offers to extend the postman's life by one day for every thing he chooses to erase from the world. So begins a bizarre week spent in a world without phones, movies, and clocks… And as these mundane objects disappear, they spark memories of the past, and reveal the deeper connections between the everyday items we take for granted and the moments that make us human. The postman seeks out people from his past, including his ex-girlfriend (Miyazaki Aoi), as he retraces these threads. Like the best of Murakami, the film is about dying, the connections we make in life, cute cats, and letting go.

Director: Nagai Akira
Cast: Hamada Gaku, Miyazaki Aoi, Satoh Takeru
Languages: Japanese with English subtitles
2016; 100 min.; HDCam

SCHEDULE:

Friday June 24, 4:00pm
Film Society of Lincoln Center

Monday June 27, 9:00pm
Film Society of Lincoln Center