Strange Little Cat is not what it seems.
The write up in the VIFF calendar claims this film, “a family prepping a celebratory dinner... the absurdities of daily life.” If that is all they got out of it they really missed the essence of this film. This is a brilliant, comedic, well orchestrated look at attempting to deal with a family member with growing dementia.
In their hectic, everyday lives, mom and dad cannot seem to find time to grieve the mental deterioration of the grandmother. Instead the chaos of life goes on without interruption to the point of piggybacking moments of grief onto the cutting of onions or dealing with allergies.
The family is affectionately weird in their approach to each other. The title of the film speaks to the reversal of logic in the situation: In the film it is the cat who is the only one who goes about its life in a normal way.
The pacing is slow and rhythmical in its steady climb and definitely not for everyone in its cinematic style of close, locked off, claustrophobic shots (about half the shots are from neck to knees). The camera choices are brilliant and speak to the family's inability to cope with the reality of the situation.
In their hectic, everyday lives, mom and dad cannot seem to find time to grieve the mental deterioration of the grandmother. Instead the chaos of life goes on without interruption to the point of piggybacking moments of grief onto the cutting of onions or dealing with allergies.
The family is affectionately weird in their approach to each other. The title of the film speaks to the reversal of logic in the situation: In the film it is the cat who is the only one who goes about its life in a normal way.
The pacing is slow and rhythmical in its steady climb and definitely not for everyone in its cinematic style of close, locked off, claustrophobic shots (about half the shots are from neck to knees). The camera choices are brilliant and speak to the family's inability to cope with the reality of the situation.
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