Forgotten Disney movie about a cat. Has the Mary Poppins brats in it. The girl acts better than the boy, and it’s kind of disturbing in places (big chunk of the plot deals with her blaming her father for the death of the cat, at one point she tells the family doctor that her father, too, is dead, and concocts a whole story about how it “happened”) and Susan Hampshire as “witch” Lori Macgregor is gorgeous. But, kinda boring really lol.

This is a beautiful study of a character and her culture. Slow moving, light on story, completely in a world of its own. In places it reminded me of The Piano (Keisha Castle-Hughes was discovered by the same casting scout who found Anna Paquin for that movie, and The Piano too is set in New Zealand).

Superb images, superb score by Lisa Gerrard, and superb performances from the whole cast but particularly Keisha Castle-Hughes, who was completely rightfully nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. Her scene in which she breaks down because her grandfather isn’t there should bring tears to even the most hardened eyes.