Paris, like New York, is suffering irrevocable change under the rousing banner of real estate development. Will neighborhoods such as La Bastille survive? An ode to a disappearing Paris, When the Cat’s Away, Cédric Klapisch’s delightful first feature about a young woman who loses her cat, also takes the pulse of contemporary urban society.
Twenty-plus Chloe (Clarence Gavel), a pale brunette with luminous eyes and slightly knock knees, lives with gay roommate Michel (Olivier Py) and a black cat named Gris-Gris in a brightly-decorated attic apartment in La Bastille. By day, she works as a make-up artist for fashion models. At night she hangs out at the chic, pricey Pause Cafe.
When Chloe goes on holiday for the first time in three years, she boards Gris-Gris with 75-year-old Madame Renee, who already houses twelve cats. To Renee’s great chagrin, the cat disappears. On her return, Chloe invokes a great cotillion of delectable old ladies to assist her in her search. From this deceptively simple premise, Klapisch’s finely-textured script conveys the warmth and humor of neighborhood life in La Bastille, with its mixed working/artist population. He shows how the new Paris—eviction papers, demolition cranes and flagship stores—is replacing the old, with its friendly concierge and bakery and closeknit community.
Performances by a cast of actors and non-actors are excellent. Zinedine Soualem is noteworthy as Chloe’s loyal supporter Djamel who risks his life on the rooftops. Of unusual poignancy is the caring rapport between young and old.
A Sundance ’97 Film Festival U.S. premiere, When the Cat’s Away will screen at MoMA’s “New Directors” in March prior to a May theatrical release.