The Sunday Disney early evening television show was a moment in most homes. Early fading memories of the original Disney film The Incredible Journey with my mother in the 'safer world 'for some that it was. Waxing nostalgia puts one in rose-coloured glasses yet it is a sheer delight to watch a new French-made A Cat's Life made for family viewing that illustrates moments of life in a non-heavy-handed way.
The story is simple yet profound in many ways as you have a young girl Clémence (Capucine Sainson-Fabresse) who rescues a kitten found in her Parisian attic. She names it Lou and throughout the film, they form an unbreakable sentimental bond. This bond is one through life that those who have animals in their home. The four-legged dependant quadrupeds become part of the family for years, seeing one through tough times, good times and life changes.
Lou like Clemence is timid, shy and in some ways naïve to what changes can happen rapidly. The family ventures to the countryside for a cottage vacation, where Lou's curiosity leads to life-changing adventures in the woods from a curious kitten to an adventurous cat much the same as Clemence who faces her parent's imminent divorce.
The city of Paris and the rural settings are lovingly photographed somewhat in the style of the Netflix series Emily in Paris. This is the backdrop of a personal voyage for all its characters, mainly through Lou's eyes. The French have a way of doing this style of live-action film earlier successes like The Bear and others with exquisite photography of the cats both large and small, Parisian drain gutters with rats and later the lush green forbidding forest. The picture also has little dialogue enhancing the storytelling with the images making it good for children.
Clémence and Lou both are in adolescence and the pursuit of independence. In many ways, this film shows often that Cats, adopt you. Lou's adventurous escapades and Clémence's evolving companionship needs particularly when her parents announce their divorce are both transition points to adulthood. A journey that one grows into sometimes at the price of a loss touching on a tough point that one never grows up until one buries a parent. A Cat's Life may seem a simple cuddle film yet there is more in play in the world of the film.
Aside from four-legged Lou and her friends who do steal the show in points, there is Corinne Masiero's portrayal of Madeleine, the secretive hermit artist who lives near the family's cottage property. Her role deepens the story with her role philosophical moments, talking to her dog Rambo as if he were human. She also coexists peacefully with nature with deep abiding respect for the cycle of life and Death that makes up the natural world. In one profound sequence Madeline reveals to Clemence that she has a hypodermic with the drug to put her Dog Rambo to sleep should his time come. She mentions it is cruel to keep animals alive for our Love and when it is Rambo's time she will do it with dignity. Madeline also is forced to kill a wild boar to save Clemence in the woods She is deeply distressed and angry about having to do this act laying her hands on the animal with reverence and regret.
A Cat's Life is wonderful as a smaller version of themes from Born Free as it shows Humans and animals are not that far apart in some ways. People grow and change with time and so seek independence. Crafted with exquisite care with music and images the film is a narrative that is not just entertainment but a learning experience for some to choose to let yourself into the film world. Even the most hard-hearted unsentimental go through these moments in Life at one time. The reflections of love, loss, and deeper themes of growing up, and leaving bits of your past life even though it hurts deeply which we all do.
