WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY (CHACUN CHERCHE SON CHAT) (Sony Pictures Classics - 1996) Starring Garance Clabel, Zinedine Soualem, Renee Le Calm, Oliver Py, Arapimou Screenplay by Cedric Klapisch Produced by Aissa Djabri, Farid Lahoussa, Manuel Munz Directed by Cedric Klapisch Running time: 95 minutes
**** (out of four stars)
Alternate Rating: A
Note: Some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers. Be forewarned.
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I was not familiar with director Cedric Klapisch before I caught CHACUN CHERCHE SON CHAT (WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY), having not seen any of his prior feature films (RIENS DU TOUT, LE PERIL JEUNE) or subsequent features (UN AIR DE FAMILLE), but it was not too far into the film when I became convinced that Mr. Klapisch was a filmmaker of talent and significance. There are a handful of scenes and shots in WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY which virtually had me bolt out of my seat with the realization that this was a *director* at work here; in an era where capable if inoffensively bland and uninspired craftsmen (say, Ron Howard) and flashy cut-cut-cut-cut specialists (perhaps Michael Bay?) can lay claim to such a title, Mr. Klapisch's talents are definitely noteworthy and certainly worthy of embracement.
The scene in WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY which cinched my positive assessment of Mr. Klapisch is Chloe's vacation scene, of which I should say little other than it's truly an inspired piece of work, utilising both wit and narrative economy. This is a sequence which could have been handled in a million-and-one different ways; Mr. Klapisch pares down the situation and discards one million of them, selecting the single most perfect manner to handle the scene, which a lesser director might simply consider as a throwaway one of little consequence.
The aforementioned Chloe (wonderful Garance Clavel) is the protagonist of WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY, a young modelling agency makeup artist who shares her apartment in Paris' Bastille district with her homosexual roommate Michel (Oliver Py) and her beloved cat, Gris-Gris (Ms. Clavel's own cat, Arapimou). As the film opens, Chloe is in the midst of preparations for a long-awaited seaside vacation; unfortunately, Gris-Gris cannot accompany her on the trip, and Michel is unwilling to look after the cat, so she's in a bit of a bind. (This, come to think of it, results in another terrific scene where Chloe sits on her couch checking off her 'To Do' list - "Find someone to care for Gris-Gris" is the sole unmarked entry - while mournful music swells in the background, and the cat cutely perches on her lap.) After asking around throughout her neighbourhood, she's pointed in the direction of Madame Renee (Renee Le Calm, a non-actor who essentially portrays herself), an fiercely-opinionated elderly woman who works at home as a catsitter. Madane Renee cheerfully (well, relatively speaking) takes in Gris-Gris, but when Chloe returns from her holiday she finds the catsitter thoroughly distraught, for the cat has gone missing. The two women then set out in search of Gris-Gris.
On the surface, this does not sound like the most enthralling of film subjects - a woman in search of her pet cat - but WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY is not really about Chloe and her cat: it instead uses this as a starting point from which to leap. Chloe's search for Gris-Gris brings her into contact with a diverse group of interesting people in her immediate community that she would have never otherwise met, and sets about a chain of delightfully humourous misadventures. The loss of Gris-Gris compounded by the encounters with her many neighbours also triggers Chloe's acute awareness of her own loneliness and self-imposed isolation, which she attempts to address through by exposing herself to social environments never before partaken. Meanwhile, throughout the film Mr. Klapisch weaves in an affecting thread of lament, mourning the gentrification of Paris as familiar stores are replaced by new trendy ones, and the old buildings are displaced by new ones catering to the young.
WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY could have gone wrong at any number of points, but it never missteps, weaving a compelling, enchanting, often poignant tale. The critical element is the performance of stunningly beautiful Garance Clavel, who is a delight as the adorable Chloe. A relative newcomer to film, Ms. Clavel's dazzling performance is completely convincing and she makes sweet-faced Chloe a terrific, utterly sympathetic protagonist for the film who is a joy to watch as we follow her onscreen adventures. A true revelation, Ms. Clavel is an actor to watch out for in future projects.
The film profiles a set of completely affable characters who come to Chloe's aid as she searches for her Gris-Gris. Madame Renee enlists a squad of fellow catsitters who set up checkpoints and passionately scour the neighbourhood in search of the cat, phoning in to Chloe at regular intervals with cat-watch updates. In a very touching and humourous subplot, good-hearted but hapless and slow-witted Djamel (Zinedine Soualem) falls hopelessly into unrequited love with Chloe while helping to try to find Gris-Gris, and consequently goes to great lengths to try to find her pet and thereby win her heart. Representative of the warm-hearted tone of WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY, the frequency at which Djamel unexpectedly pops up in the film in search of the cat is amusing while simultaneously sweet. Mr. Clavel lovingly depicts a cheerful, affectionate community with genuine camraderie in his film, which both makes enjoyable viewing and also adds accentuates the bittersweet element of this old neighbourhood's slow disintegration in order to give way to the new.
WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY skillfully depicts Chloe's increasing realisation of the emptiness in her life, with perhaps the two most effective scenes being ones where Ms. Clavel has no dialogue - one where Chloe is sent scurrying about on a fashion shoot at her unrewarding job, and the other as she silently sits in her apartment listening to her roommate in the throes of passion with a lover. Her Chloe is such an affectionate creation that the audience can't help but root for her happiness, and that results in her clumsy, naive quest for companionship becoming all the more compelling. (The scene where Michel advises her on which clothes to wear to a nightclub is a particular standout.)
It is astonishing to consider how such a simple, unlikely concept can act as the leaping board for such a compelling, airy film, but Mr. Klapisch pulls it off splendidly with WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY; the film is simultaneously fun, sweet, amusing, and touching. It's completely engaging and satisfying - and I don't even *like* cats.
- Alex Fung
email: aw220@freenet.carleton.ca
web : http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/
-- Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca) | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/ "At one point when berated and bloodied by her male military superior, Moore screams out a guttural invitation to him to enjoy partaking in the absorption of a certain anatomical member." - Dan Cox, VARIETY, on G.I. JANE
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