The Strange Little Cat

Aug 22 - Aug 28, 2014

(Ramon Zürcher, Germany, 2013, 72 min)

Seattle premiere!

Developed in a workshop with Bela Tarr, and loosely adapted from Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, Ramon Zürcher’s feature debut turns the domestic drama formula inside out by playfully unearthing the everyday rituals of a family of ten in a Berlin flat. An impressive exercise in structural playfulness, Zürcher subverts not only narrative conventions, but the norms of sound design and editing. Drawing comparisons to auteurs ranging from Chantal Ackerman to Jacques Tati to Bresson to Ozu, Zürcher infuses the mundanity of the domestic sphere with comedic touches and sinister flairs. 

"a radically disorienting, disarmingly odd first feature. . .Mr. Zürcher has concocted something intimate yet otherworldly with this highly original debut." —The New York Times

"the 30-year-old Zurcher appears to be channeling the comic maestros of French cinema here, from Jacques Tati to Michel Gondry, with just a twist of Francois Ozon to keep the sweetness in check." —Hollywood Reporter

"one of the most confident and unusual first features in recent memory. . .Writer-director-editor-sound-designer Zürcher is a rigorous formalist with a light, humane touch" —The A.V. Club

The Strange Little Cat: SFIFF 56 Trailer from San Francisco Film Society on Vimeo.

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