Verdict
Summary
From filmmaker Dominik Graf, The Cat has a tense, crackerjack edginess to it that nearly makes it a timeless thriller. With convincing performances, sudden, shocking violence, a fleet pace, and a sweat-inducing, palm-itching unpredictability that should easily translate for jaded audiences today. It works, and I was pleasantly surprised at its hard-edged heart and soul. Fairly compared to the likes of Michael Mann’s crime thrillers such as Thief and Heat, the movie is a nice “discovery” of German cinema, and I’m happy to have watched it.
Plot:
A bank heist and hostage situation goes terribly wrong.
Review:
Early one morning in Desseldorf, a slick, self-assured master criminal named Probeck (Gotz George) makes passionate love to a married woman named Jutta (Gudrun Landgrebe). There’s no love between them, only an urgent need to let off stress, namely what is to transpire a little later that morning: Probeck has planned a bank heist right across the street. Two of his associates, Junghein and Britz (Heinz Hoenig and Ralf Richter) burst into the bank with masks on and attempt the heist, but the bank is woefully short on cash that morning. They panic and radio into the mastermind Probeck, who tells them to adjust the plan and take everyone in the bank hostage. The two thugs do just that and manhandle everyone, including the bank manager who happens to be Jutta’s husband, and then the cops are called with a demand for a hefty ransom for the safe release of everyone. This, of course, turns into a huge hostage situation with the streets and alleyways becoming glutted with spectators and cops, and a hostage negotiator. Probeck, watching from a window across the street, sees everything the cops are doing, and he carefully navigates the nearby buildings and rooftops to get a lay of the land, which gives him an advantage over the police who try to trick the thugs in the bank into giving up their hostages while also trying to deceive them. Flummoxed by the tricky thugs (who aren’t all that smart at all, but Probeck is), the cops are truly at a loss as to why their plan keeps failing, while the thugs continue to get the upper hand. Meanwhile, Probeck seeks more sex from Jutta who helps him work out his stress, but there’s a wily cop combing the buildings and hallways, looking to confirm his suspicion that there’s a “guy working on the outside,” and suddenly Probeck finds himself hunted by that cop. Will his plan work? Or will the day climax in complete failure and bloodshed?
From filmmaker Dominik Graf, The Cat has a tense, crackerjack edginess to it that nearly makes it a timeless thriller. With convincing performances, sudden, shocking violence, a fleet pace, and a sweat-inducing, palm-itching unpredictability that should easily translate for jaded audiences today. It works, and I was pleasantly surprised at its hard-edged heart and soul. Fairly compared to the likes of Michael Mann’s crime thrillers such as Thief and Heat, the movie is a nice “discovery” of German cinema, and I’m happy to have watched it.
Radiance Films brings The Cat to Blu-ray for the first time, and the high definition transfer shines nicely. Loaded with special features and a reversible sleeve, the film should make a great addition to any hardcopy media collector’s collection, for anyone looking to blind-buy a gem … this one is for you.
Bonus Materials
- High-Definition digital transfer newly graded by Radiance Films and overseen by director Dominik Graf
- Interview with Dominik Graf (2024, 62 mins)
- Interview with screenwriter Christoph Fromm (2024, 31 mins)
- Interview with producer Georg Feil (2024, 31 mins)
- Select-scene commentary by Dominik Graf (2024)
- Trailer
- New English subtitle translation
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
