The Strange Little Cat (2013) review

Chamber drama in which a German family goes about their business: a boy plays with a ball outside, a little girl screeches, a teen smokes cigarettes, Dad fixes things, Grandma tries to nap, Mom looks like she's about to snap and a feline prowls around, unfazed. Akerman-lite - it's obvious Zürcher saw Jeanne Dielman - except without a feminist slant or a message: it peddles in 'small moments' (wiping blood on noses when cut, a moth flittering free, a spinning bottle) before "concluding" (more like "stopping") with a shrug (it would have been something if Mom just stabbed someone, which she looks like she's ready to do). Aggression towards the cat - for being cat-like and lazy? - is shown in two scenes where people attempt to 'step' on it ("domestic hell" taking its toll?); a deeper examination into how the family operates would have been nice, but this is just a student effort after all....