The Strange Little Cat

A spoiler light review of The Strange Little Cat should begin with tone, because Ramon Zürcher understands exactly how this comedy ought to feel. The Strange Little Cat gains early credibility from Jenny Schily, whose presence is balanced by the different rhythm of Anjorka Strechel. The foundation of The Strange Little Cat can be stated simply: A family in a house, and a chain of events that take place, on an ordinary evening that they plan to have dinner with relatives. Within its 1h 12m running time, The Strange Little Cat reveals both the benefits and the limits of that disciplined approach.

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The directorial personality of The Strange Little Cat comes from Ramon Zürcher remaining careful about tone and generally effective when the premise invites excess. Within The Strange Little Cat, Ramon Zürcher repeatedly favours readable choices over attention seeking flourishes. That discipline explains why the film delivers more often than it misses in The Strange Little Cat rather than appearing only in isolated scenes. Where The Strange Little Cat becomes less convincing, the middle loses a little urgency, and the loss of control is noticeable without becoming fatal.

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What The Strange Little Cat has to say is rooted in embarrassment, status and the gap between confidence and reality. The experience of Jenny Schily carries that question through The Strange Little Cat without reducing the character to an example. The wider conflict helps The Strange Little Cat test the theme through consequence instead of explanation. When Ramon Zürcher allows ambiguity to remain, The Strange Little Cat becomes more involving than a simple statement of intent.

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The Strange Little Cat demonstrates the value of performer rhythm by making a technical decision feel inseparable from dramatic intention. For Deutsche Film und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB), the production of The Strange Little Cat balances performer rhythm with enough restraint to keep performances visible. The Germany roots of The Strange Little Cat lend useful character to comic timing built around character across the central locations. What makes the finish of The Strange Little Cat convincing is the willingness of its sound and image to step back when a quieter reaction matters more.

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Performance is the clearest human asset in The Strange Little Cat, beginning with the committed centre provided by Jenny Schily. Anjorka Strechel keeps The Strange Little Cat from settling into one emotional register by approaching the material from another angle. The presence of Mia Kasalo gives the surrounding world of The Strange Little Cat additional texture without distracting from the main line. When Ramon Zürcher holds on a reaction, The Strange Little Cat communicates more efficiently than another explanatory exchange could manage.

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Rather than summarise every event in The Strange Little Cat, it is enough to note how the central character places an important relationship under growing pressure. Jenny Schily gives that tension a face, which stops The Strange Little Cat from becoming a mechanical sequence of developments. Ramon Zürcher uses a difficult choice to widen the stakes of The Strange Little Cat without losing sight of the original problem. Where the wider conflict becomes predictable, The Strange Little Cat recovers interest through the consequences surrounding it.

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For comedy fans who respond to personality and timing, The Strange Little Cat is ultimately a likeable film whose strengths survive its limitations. Its most persuasive combination in The Strange Little Cat brings Jenny Schily together with comic timing built around character under the direction of Ramon Zürcher. The fact that the middle loses a little urgency prevents The Strange Little Cat from being entirely seamless. Even with that reservation, The Strange Little Cat has a clear point of view and enough genuine feeling to justify the journey.