Das Merkwürdige Kätzchen

With THE STRANGE LITTLE CAT, it's not a matter of reducing your expectations; it's more trying to change your expectations.

Over the course of a day in a cramped Berlin apartment, a busy family deals with the usual mundane details: eating breakfast, fixing a washing machine, watching unwashed plates pile up, watching a hacky-sack fly through the window. Some characters tell in-jokes that almost seem surreal at times. And there's also a dog and cat, who watch the activity with curiosity.

THE STRANGE LITTLE CAT not a documentary, but an almost verite family comedy. The whole film is shot at about kitchen counter level - the level where the film's "strange" cat wanders through the rooms. Once you get into the rhythm of the film, it's engrossing and frequently funny; it suggests that everyday life, as trivial as it might seem, has great value and interest, even when you might be tempted to think otherwise.