The Cat

1971 "A love/hate so devastating it destroys everything...the marriage, the wife, the husband, the house...even the cat"
7.5| 1h27m| en
Details

Julien Bouin, a former typographist, and his wife Clemence, who used to perform in a circus, hardly talk to each other in their small house, soon to be demolished. His cat Greffier being the only one he still gives affection to, he becomes the object of Clemence's anger.

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Reviews

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Cem Lamb This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
writers_reign First and foremost this is a Masterclass in the Art of Screen Acting by two of the most distinguished practitioners of that Art. Nine out of ten people who are interested in the comments of a film like this one will be fully conversant with the outstanding contribution made to Cinema by Jean Gabin and Simone Signoret but my time posting comments on this board has been punctuated at irregular intervals by PMs from teenagers anxious to learn more about the kind of cinema where popcorn both in a carton and between the ears is not a condition of admission to the auditorium and with that albeit tiny readership in mind I'll perhaps inform them and remind the more mature that Jean Gabin spent 15 years in the French Music Hall before turning to film in 1928 since when he graced such Classics as La Belle Equipe, Pepe Le Moko, Quai des Brumes, Le Jour se leve, La Grande Illusion, Remorques, Touchez-pas au grisbi, La Traversee de Paris, Melodie sous-sol to merely scratch the surface whilst Simone Signoret, although beginning somewhat later (1942) notched up an equally impressive CV; the early success Dedee d'Anvers was directed by her first husband Yves Allegret and she went on to feature in such classic titles as La Ronde, Casque d'Or, Les Diaboliques, Armee des Ombres and the English film Room At The Top, a performance which netted her the very first Best Actress Oscar awarded to a non-American actress. These then were the dual backgrounds and experience that these great actors brought to Le Chat and once again I find myself reporting on a film in the wake of other raves and once again I am both pleased and honored to add my voice to those others. As a Case History of a relationship that has soured to the point of bitterness and virtually no communication this movie hits every target at which it aims. There are long stretches at the beginning where we have only non-verbal acting of the highest order to tell us - and I use that word deliberately rather than 'show' - what is going on, what has GONE on and what WILL be the inevitable conclusion. Monitoring the emptiness, the hollowness, the bitterness of this relationship it's almost impossible - despite subtle reminders - to imagine that these people had once loved each other so much that they had chosen to spend their lives together. Now, inexplicably and unobtrusively that love has disintegrated til Julien (Gabin) loves only his cat, Greffier whilst Signoret still yearns wistfully for the love that has been lost. Most of the other comments here speak of depression, sadness and other negatives yet I did not find it so. True, there is little or nothing uplifting about such a story - especially so since the neighboring buildings are being pulled down around them and in yet another metaphor their house is shown, in earlier times, to form a natural cul-de-sac at right-angles to the others - but Great Acting will always transcend melodramatic emotion and screen Acting doesn't come Greater than this. Brilliant.
Maciste_Brother To make a review short, the acting by Jean Gabin and Simone Signoret is nothing short of fantastic. The film is a downer but it's worth watching. There's something in French cinema that's unique. It often creates towering, almost mythical characters through mundane situations. The two actors make anyone from Hollywood look amateurish.
Curby-2 doubtless one of the best movies by granier-deferre and the acting is superb. so is the interplay of montage, photography and music. all throughout the running time everything is handled with great care and sophistication. a must-see if you like french drama. but take care: you're going to watch an extremely dark and pessimistic film. there's no light, there's no hope. nowhere.
radlov Elderly couple. Husband has nothing to communicate to his wife any more. Wife still longs for some affection. Only cat gets affection. Wife shoots cat. Husband even more alienated.My wife and I were watching this movie on TV. Our cats were sitting on our laps, happily purring. "A very profound movie about man-cat relationship", I remarked. "Actually it is more about the relationship between humans, or the lack of it", my wife replied. Of course, she was right.