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THE STRANGE LITTLE CAT

by Ramon Zürcher

synopsis

Siblings Karin and Simon are visiting their parents and their little sister Clara. That evening, other relatives will be joining them for dinner. Over the course of the day, the washing machine is repaired, people sit together at the kitchen table, carry out an experiment with orange peel, talk about lungs, and sew on a button that was deliberately torn off. This sequence of family scenes in a Berlin flat complete with cat and dog creates a wondrous world of the everyday: Coming and going, all manner of doings, each movement leading to the next, one word following another. It is a carefully staged chain reaction of actions and sentences. And in between, silent gazes and anecdotes about experiences. The people act oddly even-temperedly; their dialogues are direct and unemotional. Even the pets and the material surroundings play a part. Some objects seem alive as if by magic. Commonplace actions and familiar items appear absurd and eerie in this narrative cosmos. Putting the absurdities of daily life on display and translating unspectacular events into an exciting choreography of everyday life, this film is no small feat.

international title: The Strange Little Cat
original title: Das merkwürdige Kätzchen
country: Germany
year: 2013
genre: fiction
directed by: Ramon Zürcher
film run: 72'
release date: DE 02/01/2014, FR 02/04/2014
screenplay: Ramon Zürcher
cast: Anjorka Strechel, Jenny Schily, Luk Pfaff, Lea Draeger, Armin Marewski, Mia Kasalo
cinematography by: Alexander Haßkerl
film editing: Ramon Zürcher
art director: Sabine Kassebaum
costumes designer: Dorothée Bach
music: Thee More shallows
producer: Johanna Bergel, Silvan Zürcher
production: Deutsche Film & Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB) / German Film and Television Academy in Berlin (DFFB)
distributor: Peripher Filmverleih, Aramis Films

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