Ognuno cerca il suo gatto

Much preferable to Klapisch's follow-up, the stagebound UN AIR DE FAMILLE, this film still visualises the traumatic labyrinth of its heroine as she tries to escape her diffident personality, her rotten luck with men and the bewildering changes to her beloved Paris. Klapisch isn't above using his cat metaphor scatalogically as well as philosophically, but the detective search for enlightenment gives the plot a badly needed momentum the second film lacks.

Rohmeresque, it's been called, and you can see the point in the reliance on dialogue, young protagonists, irony and colour-coding, if not the elder's overarching critical intelligence. CHACUN achieves an empathy with its heroine the Master might envy.

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.

A wonderful insight into the types of characters we might meet in a rundown part of Paris which has seen better days and which is being demolished to make way for new and modern buildings. In some respects it's like a documentary about the concerns of the local populace for Gris-gris, a missing black cat. I think all the characters are well portrayed as a network of searchers comb the whole area and maintain daily reports over the telephone. I think the old lady Renee is absolutely priceless, not only as the recognized cat-minder but as a person who is able to express an opinion on every conceivable subject about Parisian life and attitudes. The search for Gris-gris takes us across rooftops and down alleyways to no avail and we ourselves become totally involved in the cat's whereabouts and hope he has come to no harm. It's amazing that such a simple theme can maintain our interest for 90 minutes, but undoubtedly it's the authenticity of the characters that makes this film so enjoyable.

The superb Al Green moaning one of his greatest songs : I'm so tired of being alone. That about sums it up. Klapish is quickly becoming one of my favourite directors, making great movies with small budgets like l'auberge espanol. I don't fall in love with actresses every time I see a movie but Garance Clavel will certainly haunt my daydreams for a few days... Credits to the other actors, especially Zinedine Soualem and Renée le Calm. This is a warm, sparkling and very true movie about real persons and real emotions, (and therefore) sometimes funny, sometimes tragic. A movie that makes one run out the door and ...

This film is listed as "When The Cat's Away." You will like

the characters in this film. They are all good people intent

on living their lives and interacting with each other in

meaningful ways. You may not agree with their lifesyles,

but you will not dislike them. I found the elderly ladies very

interesting especially with regard to their interaction with

the young woman (Chloe) who is the main character. The

story evolves around the loss of Chloe's beloved cat, Gris-Gris ("Gray-Gray"). This is a film that will absorb you

as you admire the human warmth and pure honesty of everyone involved in Chloe's life.