The Strange Little Cat (2013) (2013)

July 1, 2016 6:57 AM

A day in the life of a family in their cramped Berlin apartment. Described by writer/director Ramon Zürcher as a "horror movie without any horror." 70 minutes.

"The ginger tabby seen slinking about in Ramon Zurcher’s delightfully aloof first feature is probably the least strange thing about The Strange Little Cat.... With its peculiar angles and curious sensitivity to certain feelings seldom captured onscreen, the film eschews plot for wryly observed character moments, serving up an arthouse-ready Rorschach test that ensures no two viewers will have the same reaction.... The director has described the film as “a horror movie without any horror,” though it is also a comedy without any actual jokes." -- Peter Debruge, Variety

It could also be called a puzzle without puzzle, and an experiment without experiment. It is people-watching in a pure sense, with only the smallest amount of drama to season it.

In the Rorschach blot I saw a strong theme mental illness, or recovery from an emotionally abusive childhood, or even just after achieving some distance from your family. If you've ever gone home for a holiday, feeling like an observer of your own family with fresh understanding, wondering, do they all have it too? Who are these people, really? What's wrong with them? — then this film will not seem strange to you at all.

posted by nom de poop