When the Cat's Away (1996)

Chloe, a young woman, is going on holidays. She entrusts her beloved cat to Madame Renée's care. But one day Madame Renée (an old lady of the neighborhood) can not find the cat. Chloe ... See full summary »

Director:

Cédric Klapisch

Writer:

Cédric Klapisch

Stars:

Garance Clavel, Zinedine Soualem, Renée Le Calm

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Garance Clavel	...	Chloé
Zinedine Soualem	...	Djamel
Renée Le Calm	...	Madame Renée
Olivier Py	...	Michel
Arapimou	...	Gris Gris, le chat
Rambo	...	Rambo, le chat
Simon Abkarian	...	Carlos
Frédéric Aufray	...	Photographer
Olivier Barny	...	Un ouvrier ébéniste
Jane Bradbury	...	Un mannequin
Joël Brisse	...	Le peintre Bel Canto
Olympe Brugeille	...	Madame Brugeille
Franck Bussi	...	Mec aggressif
Marilyne Canto	...	La femme flic
Aline Chantal	...	Madame Doubrowsky

Storyline

Chloe, a young woman, is going on holidays. She entrusts her beloved cat to Madame Renée's care. But one day Madame Renée (an old lady of the neighborhood) can not find the cat. Chloe starts searching the neighborhood... This is the pretext for the exploration of a quarter of Paris and his inhabitants.

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Plot Keywords:

missing cat | investigation | private investigation | long haired male | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

No man. No job. No cat.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a brief strong sex scene and some language

Did You Know?

Quotes

Madame Renee: Men have let me down, but animals, never. Never!

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Connections

Referenced in Someone, Somewhere (2019)

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Soundtracks

glory box
Performed by Portishead
Written by Geoff Barrow (as g. barrows), Beth Gibbons (as b. gibbons, Adrian Utley (as a. utley)
editions EMI music publishing/ rondor music
(p) 1994 gol discs ltd.
avec l'aimable autorisation de polygram projets spéciaux

User Reviews

An interesting, arty exploration of the search to find oneself in the midst of the rapidly changing modern day Paris

This was a thoroughly enjoyable film, with a very interesting use of editing in parts... The film's main character, Chloe, lives with her gay flatmate, Michel, has few friends, and definitely no love life to speak of. She works as a make up artist, a job which she hates. One day, Chloe goes away on holiday, and leaves her cat with the local cat lady, Mme Renoir. Upon returning home, Chloe's cat, Gris-Gris, has disappeared. So starts a search for Gris-Gris that the whole neighbourhood is involved in. We are taken on a journey through a district of Paris quite distinct from any glamorised Hollywood image you'll ever see. This is the real, working, living Paris, with real people living in it, and this particular area is in a phase of 'urban development', with a lot of the traditional, working class aspects of the community being pushed aside to make way for the progress of bourgeois trends. We meet a whole host of this area's inhabitants along the way, each with their own eccentricities and foibles; characters that soon become part of Chloe's life. The disappearance of the cat instigates Chloe's search into her own life, to fill the gaps that are missing. This film centres around the hopes and desires of one character in particular (Chloe), but the backdrop is a vessel for expressing changes that are affecting real people in Paris. An interesting, arty approach to a film about the search to find oneself, and come to terms with an ever changing world that one may feel at odds with.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

20 June 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

When the Cat's Away

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$300,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,474,628

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,474,628

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vertigo, France 2 Cinéma, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1