The first thing I noticed while watching Ramon Zürcher's “The Sparrow in the Chimney” was how similar it was to “Some Rain Must Fall”, with both films about deeply unhappy women struggling to overcome a trauma from their youth. From there though, the two films couldn't be more different with Qiu Yang's film being a straight drama, whilst “The Sparrow in the Chimney” is a melodrama with heightened surreal moments spread throughout the film from time to time. Both films are excellent though, but where “Some Rain Must Fall” is devastatingly sad, “The Sparrow in the Chimney” is toxic, awkward, and intense which is shown through it's family dynamics.
Being a fan of Ramon Zürcher's previous film, “The Girl and the Spider”, I knew that I wanted to see “The Sparrow in the Chimney”, so I went in totally cold and was taken aback by just how tense the film is, as it's characters are filled with so much hate, most of it aimed at Karen, due to buried and unspoken feelings. The film makes a point of saying when you cannot come to terms with your past, it will eat away at you to a point where it becomes so toxic that it will destroy all the relationships in your life. The entire family is being destroyed from the inside out, and it really is quite shocking to witness the disturbing relationships between them all, because literally no one is happy, and it stems from one person, Karen. When her sister, Julie, arrives with her own family to celebrate Markus's birthday, it is the catalyst for old wounds to be reopened and hidden truths revealed. The title of the film is essentially another way of saying “skeletons in the closet”, although here there is also actually a sparrow in the chimney early on too.
What I really liked about “The Sparrow in the Chimney” is that it is filled with a large number of characters, but they are all well rounded and fully developed, all with their own issues and problems, and then the relationships and connections between them all feel real and lived in. They feel like a real family, dysfunctional to the extreme, yes, but you believe that they have a shared history together. While the film is a complex look at a family destroying itself, it really boils down to one person, Karen, but deeper than that, it's Karen's poisonous relationship with her own dead mother that is the ultimate source of all this pain. Something Julie says to her sister early on is that she cannot believe that she moved into a house they hated so much as children (hinting to some of that pain). Apparently their mother was not a nice person and her parenting bordered on abusive (from a mental perspective), causing the two girls to hate her and have a combative relationship with her (mirroring the way Karen's own children feel about her). Moving into this place that was so special to their mother, and being so protective of her possessions, seems insane, but it shows how even after her death, the mother still has her claws well and truly in Karen, who has essentially become defined by her childhood traumas, and the fact that she cannot find a way past them is destroying any chance of happiness she may have in the present or future. At this point too, it looks like a hopeless effort for Karen to escape from this funk. Whilst she is there in body, she is totally vacant and never truly present, permanently stuck in the past, seemingly unaware of her family tearing itself apart.
It is an interesting performance from Maren Eggert, who plays Karen, because as I just said she needs to be someone who is totally emotionally distant. For two thirds of the film, there is nothing behind Eggert's eyes, it is though she is thinking of something else, all while she appears to be looking at you. Every now and then she is broken from her trance, to answer a question from her sister or to snarl at her very combative daughter, giving the tiniest hint of the person hidden away inside, but then she immediately retreats once more to the vacant place behind her eyes. The role of Karen is all internal so Eggert does not have the luxury of building her character through the use of dialogue, instead she must focus on her body language and the use of her eyes whilst she wanders aimlessly amongst her family. Towards the end, Karen does find a little life again and when this happens we immediately notice that her eyes are engaging with what is in front of her; she begins to “see” again. The rest of the cast is excellent too, believably portraying the complexity of feelings of a family in crisis in an honest and real fashion.
Being as “The Sparrow in the Chimney” is a melodrama, Zürcher styles the film in a slightly heightened version of reality. He has a wonderful fluid visual style that, at times, reminded me of Pedro Almodovar (who, lets face it, is the ultimate gold star maker of melodramas). Even Zürcher's use of music, and the type of music he uses is similar to the way Alberto Iglesias and Almodovar use music to compliment their images. However, during the two key surreal sequences in “The Sparrow in the Chimney”, the score goes fully electronic sounding very similar to the music he used in “The Girl and the Spider”, so much so that I was surprised to find that the two films actually had different composers (with Balz Bachmann providing the music in “The Sparrow in the Chimney”, and Philipp Moll doing the same on “The Girl and the Spider”). The film has been shot by Alex Hasskerl, Zürcher's regular cinematographer, who gives the film a warm, inviting look, brightly lit giving the outdoor scenes a beautiful lush look to it. Zürcher's use of colour in the film, and not being afraid of bright colour, is yet another instance which echoed Pedro Almodovar. Something that I rarely mention in my reviews is sound design, which was especially impressive here, particularly as the film is a relationship drama and not a huge action spectacular, but multiple times during the film I was convinced that people behind me and to the side of me were talking through my screening, however I eventually realised that it was the characters within the film, that you couldn't see in the frame, that were the ones who were talking. So via the use of sound, Zürcher was able to provide a tactile world that existed beyond the frame; life existed outside of the image onscreen. One aspect that I loved in “The Sparrow in the Chimney” was the inclusion of all the animals throughout the story; they were everywhere! From the caterpillars, butterflies, cats, dogs, sparrows, chickens, fireflies and my favourite, the fat rat they feed on their window sill, their inclusion just added another layer to the film that made it so inviting to watch. However there is a tragic moment with one of the animals, when the family cat drowns in the front loaded washing machine. Whilst it is a sad moment in the film, I could not help but laugh because my own cat has a very bad habit of hopping into the dryer whenever we open the damn thing. Thankfully though we have never turned it on with him inside.
One aspect of “The Sparrow in the Chimney” that I loved was Zürcher's ability to create atmosphere and then to be able to hold it for the entirety of the film. The tension is so intense at times that you feel uncomfortable watching it. The situation is incredibly toxic too, and yet it is amazing how this tension totally dissipates when the adults (along with their emotional baggage) go for a night out on the town, leaving the kids at home to just have fun and enjoy themselves for once. Also towards the end, the tone of the film slightly changes to offer a little hope as Karen, who was on the verge of walking away from everything, stops and decides to fight to get back what she has lost. Again, like “Some Rain Must Fall”, I wouldn't call it a happy ending but it is a moment of catharsis as Karen finally attempts to break free from the ghosts of her past, which has only become possible after some of her well kept secrets have been spoken out loud.
Overall, I have barely scratched the surface of the drama that exists in “The Sparrow in the Chimney”. It is a fantastically complex and richly layered film exploring a family's fractious and toxic relationships. Whilst this review focuses mainly on Karen's plight, the film is great at looking at everyone's situations and how they are all affected. It is deep and real, but thanks to the fluid and stylish way Zürcher has shot the film, it is a very entertaining watch despite it's heavy themes. I really loved “The Sparrow in the Chimney”.
4 Stars.
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