This droll, remarkably controlled comedy chronicles one day in the life of a multigenerational family prepping a celebratory dinner in their cramped Berlin apartment. The first joke to quickly surface is the irony of the title — compared with siblings Karin and Simon, their parents and their little sister Clara (especially Clara), the cat is a paragon of normalcy. As breakfast is eaten, Clara (Mia Kasalo) displays her penchant for screaming, Mom (Jenny Schily) quietly flirts with the neighbour fixing the broken washing machine, doors open and close with the frequency of a bedroom farce and family members scramble hither and thither. Even material objects seem to take on near-magical properties…
Putting the absurdities of daily life on display, Ramon Zurcher’s debut feature assembles these seemingly unspectacular details and snippets into an exciting choreography of the quotidian that will leave audiences grinning at the film’s audacity and perfect execution.
Supported by
Jenny Schily, Anjorka Strechel, Mia Kasalo, Luk Pfaff, Matthias Dittmer
Germany
2013
In German with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Director
Ramon Zürcher
Born in 1982, Swiss screenwriter and director Ramon Zürcher studied visual arts at the Bern Academy of the Arts and film directing at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin. His debut feature, The Strange Little Cat premiered at Berlinale Forum in 2013 and was selected at over 80 festivals. In 2021, his second film, The Girl and the Spider, also premiered at Berlinale where it was awarded Best Director and the FIPRESCI prize in the Encounters section. The Sparrow in the Chimney is his third feature.
Filmography: The Strange Little Cat (2013); The Girl and the Spider (2021)
Photo by Iris Janke
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
Shadow of a Doubt
In our latest film studies series, FRAMEWORK, Michael van den Bos explores the work of Alfred Hitchcock across four monochrome masterworks. This week: smalltown US thriller Shadow of a Doubt (1943), one of the director's personal favourites.
La Bola Negra
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.
NAZA
NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.
The Best Years of Our Lives
One of the finest films to come out of WWII, The Best Years of Our Lives sympathetically conveys the difficulties returning veterans faced in readjusting to life at home. It won 7 of the top Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director and Actor.
Ray Gunn (Special Advance Screening with Brad Bird)
In an alternate future as seen from 1939, a private eye (Sam Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star (Scarlett Johansson). Followed by a moderated discussion with director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille).