English Title: The Cat
Lira Films
Starring: Jean Gabin, Simone Signoret
Directed by: Pierre Granier-Deferre

Cat Out of the Bag Alert!  This review contains MAJOR spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: An older married couple, Julien (Jean Gabin) and Clémence (Simone Signoret) find themselves in a crumbling relationship in a crumbling neighborhood with little to hold them together.

Cinema Cat: Julien owns a Bengal tabby cat named Greffier which he found as a kitten. At the beginning of the film the cat’s dish and basket sit empty and the cat is not there. A flashback scene shows the moment Julien brought the cat home.

The story of what happened to Greffier is shown in flashbacks. Because Julien is so affectionate with Greffier and shows him so much more love than he does his wife, Clémence resents the cat, which even sleeps on Julien’s bed while Clémence sleeps in a separate bed.

Greffier is often seen around the apartment, especially sleeping in his basket.

In one scene Clémence is in the basement when Greffier follows her down. She admits to the cat she doesn’t hate him, but still she proceeds to frame him for damage to Julien’s precious newspaper collection.

Julien doesn’t scold Greffier or even really seem to believe the cat ruined the papers. As they head upstairs, Greffier accidentally gets beneath Clémence’s feet and causes her to fall.

Clémence then tries to get rid of Greffier by putting him in a bag and taking him to the local supermarket, leaving him to dine on the fresh fish there.

Much to Clémence’s chagrin the cat returns that night anyway.

After another vicious argument, Clémence has had all she can stand when Julien gives her a gun and tells her to shoot him. When she doesn’t he leaves, and the grief-stricken Clémence is left alone with Greffier.

Kitty Carnage Warning!  At this point Clémence takes her anger out on Greffier, chasing him around the house and shooting at him. She finally corners him in the basement and shoots him dead.

Julien returns to the house upon hearing the shots and finds the murdered Greffier. Without a word he picks up the deceased cat and carries him to the trash bin outside and sets him in the can.

Kitty Cameos:  Julien vows to never speak to Clémence again and later he is seen watching cats on construction scaffolding nearby. Oddly enough in this scene the cats, which are shown in slow motion jumping from one board to another are sometimes seen flying around as if they had been thrown.

Final Mewsings: Killing a cat is unforgivable.

Relevant Links:

To discuss this film and other cats in movies and on television, join us on
Facebook and Twitter.