Spottiswoode, Roger, director. A Street Cat Named Bob. Roger Spottiswoode, 2016. 

 

The movie’s protagonist is James Bowen. He is homeless and addicted to heroin. His doctor applied him a Welfare apartment, so he swears to the doctor he will detoxify of drugs. His life was a mess but he met his saver in this apartment, an orange cat. One day, the cat got hurt. He seeks help from his neighbor, Betty. Betty named the cat Bob. Bob made his street business getting better and better. But he soon falls into trouble. He aware that if he kept using methadone(a type of drug to help people detoxify heroin), he will never get off from drugs. So he proposes to stop the methadone, he wants to get through the withdrawal reaction by himself. His doctor told him you cannot do it alone. “I’m not alone, I have Bob”. he said. The whole process made him painful, angry, and insane. Bob just always be with him, not even a step left. When he almost surrendered to the drugs, he looked up, Bob was right there and watching him. Finally, he’s clean and wrote a book about the story of himself and Bob. He said Bob changed his life, like a sunshine break through the dark clouds. Stand by another side to view the world, totally different, and all of these were Bob bring to him. Bob gave him hope, Bob made him decide to totally get off from drugs. And also, Bob went through the most difficult period with him. Bob changed his life, as a pet. The movie was base on real life.

The film made a deep impression on me. I see the power of pets, and how can they save people. We can see the process of the film how he got changed step by step. But we have more people in the real-life who need to face stress, pain, disease every day. Nobody can with them every moment when they need mental help. But pets can. In the film, when the doctor denied him, James said “ I’m not alone, I got Bob”. This word totally reveals that what does Bob means to him. Before Bob came to him, his whole world was gray. Live on the street, no goal, no energy, with drugs, and wasting every single day. But after Bob came, everything changed. Bob is a lodge in the snowy forest, it makes James’s world dynamic again. I think that’s the reason we need pets with patients, they are a really good company. Each person has two sides, which are the negative side and the positive side. When you are sad, the negative side will break the balance and cover the positive side. But a dynamic little friend may help you out. And take your positive side back.

 

Quotable:

“You can’t do it alone”. Docter said. “I’m not alone, I got Bob”, said James.

“That day, a decent person came to me. He called me sir” James said, “No one called me sir before, and that was Bob bring to me.”