''The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz'' is a 2000 Anglo-German black and white

surreal comedy Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causality, causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical. Portrayal ...

. It has been described as an "avant-garde comedy about the Apocalypse", co-written and directed by

Ben Hopkins Ben Hopkins (born 1969) is a British film director, screenwriter and novelist. His film ''Simon Magus'' entered the 49th Berlin International Film Festival competition in 1999. His 2008 film, '' The Market: A Tale of Trade'' ( tr, Pazar: Bir ...

Premise

On the last day of creation, a stranger arrives in London. No one knows who he is or where he has come from but by the time he leaves, the entire universe will have been erased.

Cast

* Tom Fisher as No / Tomas Katz *

Ian McNeice Ian McNeice (born 2 October 1950) is an English film and television actor. He found fame portraying government agent Harcourt in the 1985 television series ''Edge of Darkness'', and went on to feature in popular films such as ''The Englishman ...

as Inspector *

Tony Maudsley Tony Maudsley (born 30 January 1968) is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of hairdresser Kenneth Du Beke in the hit ITV sitcom ''Benidorm'', a role he played from 2011 to 2018. His other notable credits include Martin in th ...

as Taxi Driver *

Sachiko Hidari was a Japanese actress and film director. Life Hidari was born in Asahi, Toyama, as the eldest of 8 children. She graduated from Tokyo Women's College of Physical Education and gave her film debut in 1952 in ''Wakaki hi no ayamachi''. Betwee ...

as Cuthbert

Will Keen Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

Andrew Melville Andrew Melville (1 August 1545 – 1622) was a Scottish scholar, theologian, poet and religious reformer. His fame encouraged scholars from the European continent to study at Glasgow and St. Andrews. He was born at Baldovie, on 1 August 154 ...

as Minister of Fish *

Toby Jones Tobias Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. Jones made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama ''Orlando'' in 1992. He ...

as Civil Servant *

Asif Kapadia Asif Kapadia (born 1972) is a British filmmaker. Academy Award, BAFTA and Grammy winning director Asif Kapadia has made his name directing visually striking films exploring ‘outsiders’, characters living in extreme circumstances, fighting ...

as Gwupigrubynudnylandian * Kris Krishnamma as Gwupigrubynudnylandian * Jamille Jinnah as Gwupigrubynudnylandian *

Sophie Bevan Sophie Anna Magdalena Bevan (born 1983) is a British soprano appearing in concerts, recitals, and opera. Early life Bevan was born in London. She graduated from the Benjamin Britten International Opera School where she studied as a Karavioti ...

as Journalist * Trevor Thomas as Schlauch *

Amelia Curtis Amelia A Curtis (born 28 August 1972) is a British actress who was born in Stockholm, Sweden. She is notable for having played the role of Viki Lovejoy in the final series of ''Lovejoy'', a role that she took over from Amelia Shankley. ...

as Underworld Announcer * Tilly Blackwood as Underworld Secretary *

David de Keyser David de Keyser (22 August 1927 – 20 February 2021) was an English actor and narrator. Life and career Born in London in August 1927, in the mid-sixties de Keyser worked twice with the writer, actor and director Jane Arden (director), Jane A ...

as Exhumed Rabbi *

John Ramm John Ramm is an English comedian and actor. He plays Raymond Box in the National Theatre of Brent, and has also appeared on film and television in ''Robin Hood'' (" Will You Tolerate This?"), ''The Palace'', ''Foyle's War'' ("All Clear") and as M ...

as Ivul Gurk *

Janet Henfrey Janet Ethne Anne Henfrey (born 16 August 1935) is a British stage and television actress. She is best known for playing Mrs. Bale on '' As Time Goes By'', and for her role as the schoolteacher in the Dennis Potter television play '' Stand Up, N ...

as Janice Waily *

Boyd Clack Boyd Daniel Clack (born 7 March 1951) is a Canadian-born Welsh writer, actor, and musician. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to Welsh parents. At a young age, he emigrated with his family to Wales, where he grew up in Tonyrefail ...

as Abel Mularchy * Tara Savage as Radiator Child * Callum Savage as Radiator Child * Oliver Parkes as Drumchild *

Andrew Kötting Andrew Kötting (born 16 December 1959) is a British artist, writer, and filmmaker. He made numerous experimental short films, which were awarded prizes at international film festivals. '' Gallivant'', was his first feature film, a road/home fil ...

as Taxi Driver * Graham Lawson as axi Driver * Joseph Greig as Astral Guide *

Tim Barlow Michael John Leigh Barlow (born 18 January 1936), whose stage name is Tim Barlow or sometimes Timothy Barlow, is an English actor who has performed many small roles in a variety of films, television programmes and plays. Barlow left the army i ...

as Mr. Browne * Joan Oliver as Care Worker * Colin Weatherall as Bank Clerk * Sean Albuquerque as Geoff Plow * Jason Thorpe as Officer Willis *

Togo Igawa , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor who works primarily in British films and television. In recent years, he has had roles in major films such as ''Revolver'', ''Memoirs of a Geisha'', ''The Last Samurai'', and ''A Matter of Size'' ...

as Japanese Scuba Diver * Kiki Kendrick as Suburban Mum * Stephen Pye as Suburban Son * Yvette Richardson as Police Secretary * Francesca Dowd as Tea Lady * Sadie Walters as Tea Lady * Thomas Q. Napper as Man Falling During 'Gripped' *

Paul Ritter Simon Paul Adams (20 December 1966 – 5 April 2021), known professionally as Paul Ritter, was an English actor. He had roles in films including ''Son of Rambow'' (2007), '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008), ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' ...

as Dave * Steven O'Donnell as Keith *

Noah Taylor Noah George Taylor (born 4 September 1969) is a British-born Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as teenage David Helfgott in '' Shine'', Locke in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Darby Sabini in the BBC One series ''Peaky Bli ...

as Hyde Park Nutter * David Farr as Hyde Park Nutter *

Kim Noble Kim Noble is a comedian and artist, and was one half of the BAFTA-nominated comedy duo Noble and Silver, who won the 2000 Perrier Award for Best Newcomer. Kim has featured in shows such as ''The Mighty Boosh'', ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'' ...

as Hyde Park Nutter *

Tim Potter Tim Potter is an English actor in theatre, films and TV since the 1980s. Career Potter's stage work includes playing the role of Salvador Dalí in the original production of Terry Johnson's ''Hysteria'' at the Royal Court in 1993, and Charles I ...

ad Apocalyptic Nutter * Andrew Harrison as Voice * India Martin as Voice * Josh De La Mare as Voice * Luke Morris as Voice * Catherine Gosling Fuller as Voice * Andy Lane as Voice

Critical response

Peter Bradshaw Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''. Early life and education Bradshaw was educated at Haberdashers ...

wrote in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', "a distinctively English, rather than simply British, movie in its loopy, diverting surrealism...Nothing so obvious as a plot is allowed to cramp this movie's style as it swoops weirdly across the dream landscape of London like a demented, dishevelled bird." George Perry wrote on

BBC Films BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'', '' Alan Part ...

, "this has to be one of the strangest films of the year, a weird apocalyptic vision shot in the most mundane of London surroundings, with all too obvious budgetary constraints pushed asunder by the sheer energy of the director's imagination."

Awards

The film was the winner of the Evening Standard Best Newcomer Award 2000, for director

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nine Lives of Tomas Katz 2001 films 2000s avant-garde and experimental films Apocalyptic films British avant-garde and experimental films British independent films Films scored by Dominik Scherrer Films set in London German comedy films English-language German films Surreal comedy films 2000s English-language films British comedy films 2000s British films 2000s German films