#if cats disappeared from the world

(warning: spoilers ahead!)

Cast:

Sato Takeru: devil / postman
Miyazaki Aoi: ex-girlfriend

If cats disappeared from the world, how would the world change?

If I disappeared from the world, who would be sad for me?                                  

The story begins with the protagonist delivering letters to people in the neighbourhood. He works as a postman, and one day while working he collapses, and later finds out that he has a brain tumour and will not live for long.

Unable to accept the fact, the distraught protagonist returns home. He then sees someone who looks exactly like him. The person introduces himself as the devil and offers the protagonist a chance to prolong his life. To do so, the protagonist must agree to let the devil erase an object from the world. Unsure of what this means, the protagonist agrees to the proposal.

The devil then decides to erase phones from the world. This reminds the protagonist of how he met his ex-girlfriend. They came to know each other after a misdialed phone call from his ex-girlfriend. As phones are erased from the world, so is his memory and relationship with his ex-girlfriend.

Having prolonged his life for a day, the devil proposed once again to erase another object in exchange for a day more for the protagonist to live. This time, the devil took away movies. The protagonist then recalls his best friend Tatsuya, who is a movie buff. Tatsuya would lend a DVD every day to the protagonist. At this point, we can come to the conclusion that Tatsuya was the one who led the protagonist into becoming an item with his ex-girlfriend, who happens to be a movie enthusiast as well. But as movies are erased from the world, so is his friendship with Tatsuya.

The third object the devil erased from the world is clocks. The protagonist’s father, a watch repairman, is a taciturn person, and it is hinted that the father and son do not share an amicable relationship.  With clocks erased from the world, so is the protagonist’s relationship with his father. At this point, the protagonist starts to wonder what will happen if he disappears instead?

Anyway, having lived for another day, the devil makes his last proposal. This time he is going to erase cats from the world. Unlike the previous three times, the protagonist shows a greater reaction this time. Earlier in the movie we see the protagonist rescue an abandoned kitten when he was younger and was ultimately allowed to keep the kitten by his mother, who is actually allergic to cat fur.

Here we can deduce that cats signify the protagonist and his relationship with his mother. The fact that he showed such great reaction to the thought of cats disappearing from this world shows that he values his relationship with his mother the most. The thought of losing his relationship with his mother scares him so much that he tells the devil not to erase them.

It is then revealed that the devil did not exist, and is, in fact, the other side (or the inner devil) of the lead. All this time he was talking to himself because he couldn’t accept his condition, and was coming up with ways and scenarios to prolong his life. He had placed his life as above everything else but finally realises that there are certain irreplaceable things. Coming to terms with the other side of him made him also come to terms with his impending death.

With that, the protagonist reverts to his normal life. As he approaches the final day of his life, he writes a letter to his father as an attempt to reconcile their relationship. He also meets his ex-girlfriend and Tatsuya for the last time.

The film ends with the content of the protagonist’s letter to his father, which basically reflects the feelings of the protagonist about his existence in the world. However insignificant his presence was to the world, he believes that there is still a difference between the world where he exists and the world where he vanishes. To him, however small the difference may be, it is still proof that he has once lived.

I honestly expected myself to cry while watching, but sadly I did not. Sato’s acting is, of course, great, and I actually enjoyed the movie. This movie has introduced a new perspective to life and has made me realise that nothing is replaceable in life, especially memories and relationships we share with the people we love and care about. We should cherish everything we have in life before it is all too late. Not a tearjerker, but definitely an inspirational piece worth watching.

THE REVIEW: If Cats Disappeared From The World

Imagine you have just been diagnosed with an incurable disease and you have hardly any time left on this here planet. You arrive home and see the devil himself sitting on your sofa. Don’t ask me how you know it is the devil, forget about whether or not you even believe in the devil. He is there, petting your cat and beckoning you to join him.

That is where this story beings. And you will (I hope)…

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