Best movies like Alley Cat

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Alley Cat Starring Yosuke Kubozuka, Kenji Furuya, Yui Ichikawa, Ryoma Baba, and more. If you liked Alley Cat then you may also like: Journey of Hope, Harry and Tonto, Damsels in Distress, Goemon, Bullies and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

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A depressed ex-boxer (Yosuke Kubozuka) self-medicating for the injuries that ended his career finds a stray cat that brightens his day, but she is snatched up by a comical grungy mechanic (Kenji Furuya). Calling each other by the competing names they gave the cat, Maru and Lily, the odd pair is abruptly sucked into a political conspiracy with Saeko (Yui Ichikawa) and her son at the center. Witnessing another injustice in which the economic and social elite prey on the vulnerable, the two strays set off on the road to redemption, or at least peaceful cat ownership. (Fun fact: in addition to acting together in Alley Cat, Yosuke Kubozuka and Kenji “KJ” Furuya released the single “Soul Ship” in 2017. Kubozuka performs as Manji Line and Furuya in the band Dragon Ash.) -JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film

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Journey of Hope

In a village in eastern Turkey, tales of the economic success of Turks in Switzerland inspire Haydar to convince his wife Meryem that they must go. He sells their livestock and small plot of land in exchange for passage for two. He wants to leave their seven children in the care of the eldest and his parents; his father advises him to take one son to be educated in Europe, as economic insurance. The three set off for Istanbul, Milan, and Switzerland, stowing away on a ship. At Lake Como, they pay the rest of their money to unprincipled men who abandon them at an Alpine pass before a blizzard. Father and son are separated from Meryem. Will anyone reach the land of promise?

Harry and Tonto

Harry is a retired teacher in his 70s living in the Upper West Side of New York City where his late wife and he raised his children--where he's lived all his life. When the building he lives in is torn down to make way for a parking garage, Harry and his beloved cat Tonto begin a journey across the United States, visiting his children, seeing a world he never seemed to have the time to see before, making new friends, and saying goodbye to old friends.

Damsels in Distress

A trio of beautiful girls set out to revolutionize life at a grungy American university: the dynamic leader Violet Wister, principled Rose and sexy Heather. They welcome transfer student Lily into their group which seeks to help severely depressed students with a program of good hygiene and musical dance numbers.

Goemon

Follow the infamous ninja bandit named Ishikawa Goemon (Yosuke Eguchi) in an epic story. One night while looting treasure from Nanban (Southern Barbarians), Goemon finds a mysterious box hidden inside a secret grave. A forgotten relic from the past containing untold powers.

Bullies

When the peaceful Morris family move to a small town and buy the town grocery store, they run afoul of the Cullen family. The Cullen's have been bullying the town's folk for years, and now they are harassing the Morris family every chance they get. Matt meanwhile meets and starts seeing a lot of Becky who also likes him. Unfortunately her last name is Cullen, and when the rest of the family finds out about their relationship, they decide to get even, and their harassment is elevated to vicious assault.

Father Stu

The true-life story of boxer-turned-priest. When an injury ends his amateur boxing career, Stuart Long moves to Los Angeles to find money and fame. While scraping by as a supermarket clerk, he meets Carmen, a Sunday school teacher who seems immune to his bad-boy charm. Determined to win her over, the longtime agnostic starts going to church to impress her. However, a motorcycle accident leaves him wondering if he can use his second chance to help others, leading to the surprising realization that he's meant to be a Catholic priest.

The Legend of Billie Jean

Average Texas teen, Billie Jean Davy, is caught up in an odd fight for justice. She is usually followed and harrased around by local boys, who, one day, decide to trash her brother's scooter for fun. The boys' father refuses to pay them back the price of the scooter. The fight for "fair is fair" takes the teens around the state and produces an unlikely hero.

Incident in a Small Town

Lily and her son John live alone in a small town as her husband has been killed fighting the war in France. Or at least that is what she told John, but the arrival of Frank back in the town leads him to find out that she not only has been lying about that but also about the fact that she never married him. When Frank tussles with Lily in her yard she applies for a restraining order, calling on the help of her father (the esteemed judge Stoddard Bell) and his partner (lawyer Harmon Cobb). The case fails and when Frank is found murdered later that night Stoddard is arrested and Cobb has a defence case on his hands.

Lorenzo

A cat named Lorenzo is dismayed to discover that his tail has developed a personality of its own.

10,000 Black Men Named George

In the 1920s, the rights of American workers to join a labor union was still considered an open question, and African-Americans were routinely denied their civil and economic rights. 10,000 Black Men Named George, the title, refers to the fact Pullman porters were often called "George" by white passengers, which was considered a racial slur.

Wolf

Jacob, a man who believes he is a wolf trapped in a human body, is sent to a clinic by his family where he is forced to undergo increasingly extreme forms of "curative" therapies at the hands of The Zookeeper. Jacob’s only solace is the enigmatic Wildcat, with whom he roams the hospital in the dead of night. The two form an improbable friendship that develops into infatuation.

Love Everlasting

Bridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.

Tokyo Tribe

In an alternate Japan, territorial street gangs form opposing factions collectively known as the Tokyo Tribes. The simmering tension between them is about to boil over into all-out war.

@urFRENZ

When depressed and withdrawn Catharine meets a secretive boy online, she begins to come out of her shell. But is he a suitor or a stalker, a friend or foe? The mystery of his existence fuels obsession, denial and deceit, sending her to the point of no return. In the midst of cliques, boyfriends, and digital drama, Catharine is trying to make sense of a world of uncertain identities. The film was inspired by the writer-director's own experience parenting his teenage daughter in the world of cyberspace. @urFRENZ was made to serve as a talking point for the subject matter of bullying and cyberbullying, the number one hot button issue between parents and teens today.

Odd Obsession

A middle-aged husband of a younger woman finds her youth intimidating to the point that he cannot become aroused. His solution involves the introduction of his daughter's lover to his wife.

Stray Cat Rock: Machine Animal

Two Japanese men help a Vietnam war deserter escape from Japan for Sweden. They plan to fund the escape by selling LSD pills. After word of the drug deal gets spread around they find themselves fending off rival gangs.

Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season

When Shiloh's abusive previous owner, Judd Travers, tries to retake Shiloh again, Ray tries to find a way to end the rivalry and open up the hidden kindness within the town drunk.

Fighting Spirit: Champion Road

Makunouchi Ippo is the new Featherweight champion of Japan and is now ready for his first title defense. His opponent, the former Jr. Featherweight champion and a medical student, Sanada Kazuki. In addition to this feud, Sanada is being coached by Kamogawa's former rival, Hama Dankichi. What makes things worse is that Sanada works at the same hospital where Kumi is a nurse at and everybody at the hospital wants Sanada to win. Not only does Ippo have to defend his title, he has to reclaim his love.

Yo-Yo Girl Cop

Recruited by a clandestine police organization, "K" must stop a plot by student radicals to create anarchy in Japan. Armed with a hi-tech steel yo-yo, and a new name (Asamiya Saki), she must infiltrate an elite high school to find the terrorists but finds an even more sinister plan is about to unfold.

S: The Last Policeman: Recovery of Our Future

The NPS (National Police Safety Rescue), whose purpose is to catch extreme criminals alive, becomes the center of attention. A sit-in demonstration takes place. Members of the NPS, including Ichigo Kamikura (Osamu Mukai) go to the protest site. Meanwhile, a transport ship is hijacked in the Pacific Ocean.

Madness in Bloom

Yamaguchi, Ichikawa and Kosuge dress in white military-style uniforms to "clean" the streets of Shibuya from bad elements. After rightist gang boss, Aota takes an interest in the three, the boys gradually become influenced by him, but start to go their different ways.

Sleepy Eyes of Death 5: Sword of Fire

Fifth film in the series. When Kyoshiro, in a moment of weakness, saves the life of a woman being attacked on the road, he quickly finds himself entangled in a conspiracy involving a corrupt chamberlain, a wily merchant, the survivors of a pirate gang, and a missing treasure trove.

The Extreme Sukiyaki

Former college buddies Horaguchi and Okawa suddenly reunite on a whim after 15 years apart and try to resume their friendship by planning a trip together. Meanwhile, Okawa’s live-in girlfriend Kaede and the pair's old friend Kyoko get roped into joining them. Soon, the four head off on a trip together with the goal of sharing sukiyaki by the sea.

GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka

Tohru Fujisawa's popular manga about a wildly irreverent high school teacher comes to the screen in this live-action comedy drama. Eikichi Onizuka (Takashi Sorimachi), who barely earned his teaching degree at a second-rate college, rolls into Horobonai, a small rural town in Northern Japan on his motorcycle to take a job as a substitute instructor. Ever since the closing of the local theme park, Horobonai has fallen into an economic tailspin, and many of the town's teenagers have sunk into a deep depression. Onizuka, however, isn't the sort of person who respects the town's newly somber personality; willing to mouth off to both his students and his superiors, Onizuka isn't much of a teacher, but he knows how to get people interested, and soon his brash style (and willingness to kick a few butts) brings new life to Horobonai.

I Am a Cat

Nakadai is an English teacher at a local school. He’s put-upon like the patron figure of dozens of films and televisions shows. Viewers who are especially fans of Nakadai will appreciate how the actor comically rants about here. His home life is almost disastrous, with a ditzy (but attractive) wife, three young children, a loud school nearby that’s controlled by a corrupt businessman he loathes, and frequent visits from layabout friends. And the grey-furred, green-eyed cat!

Neko Ramen Taisho

Taishô's father is a supermodel cat, and everybody believes that Taishô will be a supermodel as well. His family has great expectations of him, because he is the eldest son, but he can't bear all the pressure and runs away from home. Unfortunately, he has no clue how to survive on his own, having always been fed and pampered as a model cat. Taishô passes from one job to another, homeless, until he finds his place in a noodle shop, where he becomes a successful cook.

Sin Clock

In order to turn their lives around, three taxi drivers living at the bottom rung of society hatch a plan to steal an invaluable art piece. Their plan was supposed to be perfect, but as coincidences pile up it becomes clear that nothing is going to go according to plan.

Call Me Chihiro

An unapologetic former sex worker starts working at a bento stand in a small seaside town, bringing comfort to the lonely souls who come her way.

スイート・マイホーム

A sports instructor in Nagano is named Kenji Kiyosawa (Masataka Kubota). He is fascinated by a model house called Mahou no Ie, which is able to warm the inside of an entire home with only one air conditioner unit. Kenji Kiyosawa decides to construct a similar home for his wife and daughter, who are both sensitive to cold temperatures. In the meantime, Kenji Kiyosawa and his wife have a second daughter. Finally, the construction of their new home is completed. Kenji Kiyosawa, his wife, and their two daughters move into their new home. They are elated with their new home, but bizarre incidents soon take place there.

For Those We Love

In 1943, as Japan's WWII effort falters, a vice-admiral proposes training squadrons of "volunteer" flyers to crash their armed planes into Allied warships. Yarn follows the lives of kamikaze pilots, as remembered by an aging Kyushu restaurateur who cherishes their memory. Honoring the dead and multiple military anthems may stir the soul of some Japanese, but elsewhere auds will make a one-way trip for exits. Battle scenes are well-executed and script delivers some memorable scenes, but overall competent helming and thesping are powerless over writer-cum-Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishiara's repetitive storytelling. A post-war postscript adds considerable length to an already over-extended narrative. Tech credits are good quality.

Laundry

A young man named Teru, mentally altered by a childhood injury, runs a laundry and falls for Mizue, a lonely young woman who suffers from kleptomania. One day Mizue left one of her dresses behind in the machine that was stained with blood from her failed suicide attempt. Teru decides to find Mizue in order to return the dress, after having tried to desperately to wash off the blood stain. Soon thereafter Teru's grandmother dies, and her creditors repossess the home in which Teru was living in. The young couple turn to Sally for help. Sally is a caring man who trains pigeons for a living. Then one day, Sally leaves everything he owns to Teru and Mizue. They start a new life. Teru proposes to Mizue, but she refuses him. The more she is assured of Teru's pure heart, the more she feels she doesn't deserve it. Full of inner turmoil, Mizue begins shoplifting again.

No Life King

Via the New York Times: "The solemn, intent faces of the Japanese schoolboys playing video games in Jun Ichikawa's "No Life King" bespeak a new type of modern horror. Addicted to their favorite new game (from which the film takes its title), these children have become seriously estranged from the real world. The film's constant emphasis is on the ways in which this has been allowed to happen, and on how emblematic it is of larger attitudes in a technological society. When a young boy trying to converse with his mother must compete with a home computer for her attention, it's not hard to see why the boy has retreated into his own computer-dominated world."

Her Hidden Past

Adaptation of a famous Kyouka Izumi novel. Set in the early 1900's, it tells the story of the impossible love between a young scholar a beautiful geisha.

Hero Interview

Kasumi Sawaki (Honami Suzuki) works for a top-ranked newspaper publishing company as a capable economic reporter. Speaking six languages fluently, she vigorously performs research and interviews. Her fiance, Ishii (Shingo Tsurumi) is an elite in the same company. Although her work and love seem to go very well, she is suddenly relegated to the minor Sports Department which is full of strange colleagues.

Sayonara Debussy - Pianist Tantei Misaki Yosuke

Yosuke Misaki used to be a promising prosecutor, but he suddenly quit his job. He begins a new career as a pianist. He knocks on the door of wealthy man Kentaro Katsuki who lives in a peaceful area of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. Kentaro Katsuki lives with his housekeeper Michiko Tsuzuruki (Midoriko Kimura). Kentaro allows Yosuke Misaki to stay at his home. Near Kentaro Katsuki's home, lives the Sanada family. At their home, Haruka aspires to become a pianist. One day, a fatal fire breaks out at the Sanada's house. Later, Yosuke helps Haruka to play the piano again.

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