Take to heart Tolstoy's observation that "unhappy families are unhappy in their own way" when watching The Sparrow in the Chimney.
The family depicted in the film is large and complex. Women run it: matron Karen has taken over the family home after the mother's death. She lives in an OCD hell and expects everybody to follow her ironclad rules. Younger sister Jule comes with her brood to celebrate Karen's husband's birthday. Add to the mix resentful offspring, sensual games amongst relatives, and a mysterious woman who lives in the cabin across the field, and you have the ingredients for one of the intelligent family dramas for which the producers are becoming known.
The Sparrow in the Chimney is the work of writer/director Ramon Zürcher, who, with his twin brother Sylvan, probes domestic dynamics. It's the final installment of their "Animal Trilogy," intriguingly named because it connects human foibles to all manner of beasts while respecting the dignity of both.
Maren Eggert's Karen is our weathervane through the tumult, ever hovering and worn down by the weight of imagined obligations: the more opaque her expression, the more nuance flickers across it. Britta Hammelstein plays sister Jule as a blithe spirit by contrast, visiting with handy husband Jurek (Milian Zerzawy), fully attuned to their dead mother's continuing presence yet resolutely playful. Sexy daughter Johanna (Lea Zoe Voss) uses her piercing stare and angular features to defy mom Karen. Broken son Leon (Ilja Bultmann) is a Norman Bates-ish study in compliance: he keeps the housekeeping flame alive while openly despising the tasks. Prodigal daughter Christina (Paula Schindler), a welcome note of reason, returns home only to make it clear she'll abandon it again. Husband Markus (Andrea Dohler) reacts as a sensitive soul might to an unavailable wife. And the doe-eyed occupant of the cabin, Liv (Luise Heyer), floats through the house as the spirit of the mother floats through Karen, bringing with her a sweet note of eroticism.
I admire Mr. Zürcher's epic tableau, and masterful traffic direction—the interruptions, the brushings-by—of so many characters with so many secrets and lies. His blocking alone and control over the way characters enter and leave rooms is breathtaking from the opening minutes. His mise en scéne, composition, and editing stitch together a world that invites us in, at our own risk.
If all this sounds dense, it is. But The Sparrow in the Chimney is also a treat for the eyes. Great faces are everywhere, characters drawn clearly with minimum exposition. Winged creatures flit about in every scene, suggesting release and escape. I'm all in on these "arthouse" films if they show this much flair. The fun is in watching how roles switch and intents intersect in the way that would make Ingmar Bergman and early Woody Allen proud.
The first two films of the Zürcher brothers' "Animal Trilogy" are The Strange Little Cat (2013) and The Girl and the Spider (2021).
_______________________________________
The Sparrow in the Chimney. Directed by Ramon Zürcher. 2024. In German with English subtitles. Runtime 117 minutes. Only in theaters.