WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY (CHACUN CHERCHE SON CHAT)
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 8.0 Alternative Scale: ***1/2 out of ****
France, 1996 U.S. Release Date: beginning 6/97 (limited) Running Length: 1:35 MPAA Classification: R (Sexual situations, profanity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Cast: Garance Clavel, Zinedine Soualem, Olivier Py, Renee Le Calm,=20 Romain Duris, Joel Brisse Director: Cedric Klapisch Producer: Aissa Djabri Screenplay: Cedric Klapisch Cinematography: Benoit Delhomme U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics In French with subtitles
Part documentary, part narrative fiction, WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY=20 represents one of the year's most offbeat approaches to a character=20 study. Set in Paris' Bastille quarter, Cedric Klapisch's film offers an=20 involving, occasionally poignant portrait of an insecure twentysomething=20 woman named Chloe (Garance Clavel). At the same time, the movie=20 examines the changing face of the city, as trendy shops replace older,=20 family-run businesses, supermarkets supplant Mom and Pop stores, and=20 apartment buildings are renovated to cater to a younger crowd. Indeed,=20 although Klapisch doesn't dwell upon Paris' gentrification, it=20 represents one of his film's important subtexts (watch for the highly=20 symbolic scenes depicting the destruction of an old building).
It's no accident that much of WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY has a "real" feel=20 =96 many of the supporting performers, who are playing themselves, are=20 amateurs with no previous acting experience. In fact, Klapisch was so=20 intrigued by the colorful secondary characters that he greatly expanded=20 the movie's length (it was originally devised as a 20-minute short) to=20 take advantage of their presence. =20
WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY begins with the search for a lost animal, but=20 develops into something more sublime and revealing. At the film's=20 opening, we meet Chloe as she is making final preparations for her first=20 vacation in three years. Up to this point, however, she has been unable=20 to find anyone to care for her beloved cat, Gris-Gris. Her gay=20 roommate, Michel (Oliver Py), is unwilling to put himself out, so she is=20 forced to ask around the neighborhood. Her inquiries lead her to Madame=20 Renee (Renee Le Calm), a known cat-sitter. Chloe leaves Gris-Gris with=20 the elderly woman, then leaves for two weeks at the seaside. She=20 returns to learn that Gris-Gris has run away, leaving Madame Renee in a=20 state of near-panic.
The film progresses with Chloe searching the neighborhood for Gris- Gris. In the process, she meets many of the people who live nearby, but=20 with whom she has never come into contact. There's a shy, insecure=20 young Arab named Djamel (HATE's Zinedine Soualem) who is more than=20 willing to help Chloe as she scours the streets, a grungy musician=20 (Romain Duris) who catches her eye, and, most memorably, a group of=20 Madame Renee's friends, all of whom seize upon this minor emergency as a=20 means of adding spice to routine existences.
As she interacts with neighbors for the first time and later sits=20 alone at home, listening to her roommate entertaining a lover, Chloe=20 becomes aware of her own isolation and loneliness. Suddenly, WHEN THE=20 CAT'S AWAY is no longer about finding Gris-Gris, it's about Chloe=20 discovering meaning in her life. The cat becomes a metaphor for=20 companionship, and Chloe opens herself to emotional risks she would not=20 normally consider in an effort to find someone with whom she can=20 connect. Her plaintive question of "Why am I all alone?" is one that=20 many individuals across the world can relate to. =20
Klapisch's decision to rely upon many unproven actors has mixed=20 results. Some of them are clearly raw, occasionally delivering lines=20 awkwardly. Others, on the other hand, such as the eccentric Madame=20 Renee, are natural performers, and they provide the film with some of=20 its best comic sequences. WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY's real revelation,=20 however, is newcomer Garance Clavel, who is hypnotizing as Chloe. Not=20 only is Clavel an excellent actress with expressive features, but she=20 has an undeniable screen presence. The camera loves her, and it's=20 obvious that one reason we become so attached to Chloe is because of the=20 way in which Clavel brings her to life.
WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY claims a premise so simple that it's easy to=20 wonder how a full length feature could be developed from it, but the=20 results are profound and moving. There's a little bit of Chloe in all=20 of us, I think, and that's why it's so easy to relate to this searching=20 young woman. Klapisch injects enough comedy to keep WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY=20 light, but not so much that he turns it into a farce or dilutes the=20 film's dramatic content. This picture is yet another unconventional=20 French export worthy of notice, and is a welcome addition to the=20 season's movie schedule.
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli=20
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
"A film is a petrified fountain of thought." - Jean Cocteau
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