A Cat In Paris Review: Une Belle Encore Ternes Film Français...If You'll Pardon My French

By Brad Williams / April 5, 2012

rating:2.5

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After the loss of her father, Zoe (Oriane Zani) has retreated into a world of silence and isolation. Distant from her resolute Police officer mother Jeanne (Dominique Blanc), Zoe€™s only true advocate in life is her black and orange cat Dino. The two share a loving and mutual relationship, but Dino has a secret: At night he is an accomplice to cat-burglar Nico (Bruno Salomone). In case you have not heard, France is all the rage right now. The French are dominating American cinema , whilst American cinema is obsessing with the French . Over 75% of the recent Oscar accolades were, in some way, awarded to or due to French involvement. It seems that the West has written a billet doux to our baguette baking cousins, and one can only hope that this is a belle époque rather than just cinema du jour (I think that€™s enough French puns for you all).

A Cat in Paris comes in on the tail end of this French fancy (sorry). Nominated for Best Animated Film, it lost out to Rango (and rightfully so). But there is nobility in this loss, as in actuality A Cat in Paris just isn€™t really very enjoyable. True, it is wonderfully drawn and carries a genuine flavour of €˜old fashioned€™ animation. True, it has a very distinct style and flavour which is unfamiliar in modern cinema. True, there are two or three moments of sheer ingenuity, which demonstrate a passion for creative storytelling . But unfortunately, the story and characters are just a little too bland. Nico€™s almost elastic frame provides the film with opportunities to really create some laughs, and the opening sequence is a fine example of smile inducing silliness. However, the true depths of this joke are never truly explored and Nico€™s amoral distance subsides all too easily when presented with Zoe€™s dilemma. There are obvious comparisons to Luc Besson€™s classicLeon, and real prospects to develop an organic and gentile surrogate paternity between the two. Zoe€™s innocence and disadvantaged condition could have been an avenue into deeper emotions, which sadly do not develop beyond doe eyed vulnerability.

There is supposed to be a subplot involving crime lord Victor Costa (Jean Benguigui) and Jeanne; with Costa being the man who killed her husband. Due to the film€™s super slender running time of 61 minutes, this never gets far beyond Costa appearing as a misty red squid in Jeanne€™s minds eye. Any sense of menace is quickly dispensed with, as we soon find out that Costa is less Hannibal Lector and more Harry and Marv (Home Alone). Costa and his band of halfwit gang members bumble around the framework of the film like a drunken hobo. Granted, this IS a kid€™s film, and we don€™t exactly want Freddy Kruger as the main villain. But Costa never really feels like anything more than an annoying catalyst for the story. His obsession with some random Aztec effigy called Colossus, feels like a half baked attempt at giving substance to an otherwise lifeless antagonist. A Cat in Paris is a relatively engrossing watch, but for no other reason that the aesthetics. The distinct Parisian architecture is beautifully crafted in a dreamlike space which is halfway between Hugo and Breathless. Because of this, some of the film€™s most gleeful moments, times of credulous awe, come when Nico is leaping along the rooftops. There is enough here to make you fall in love with the great city. However, the film is harmless and makes no attempt at being either relevant or pertinent: it just€exists. One can suppose that maybe, in the grand scheme of it all; it is this existential irony which makes A Cat in Paris the most distinctly French film of the moment. A Cat In Paris is set for release on Friday 6th April in UK. No release date as yet for US.