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The Sparrow in the Chimney

Play trailer 1:43 Poster for The Sparrow in the Chimney In Theaters Fri Aug 1 1h 57m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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91% Tomatometer 11 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Verified Ratings
Karen, along with her husband Markus and their children, lives in her childhood home, left behind after the death of her mother. When her sister, Jule, visits with her family to celebrate Markus's birthday, the weekend opens old wounds and past traumas, unleashing repressed feelings that threaten to destroy their relationship and shatter Karen's grip on reality. The latest film from acclaimed writer and director Ramon Zücher (The Girl and The Spider), The Sparrow in the Chimney is a "darkly engrossing psychodrama of pent-up domestic tensions." (Variety) With "deep, bold dives into the nightmarish and the surreal" and a venomously comedic touch, this is the "rare film that feels like a catharsis for protagonist and director both." (The Film Stage)
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Critics Reviews

View All (11)
Zachary Lee RogerEbert.com A film dipped in venom, often funny and deeply unsettling in how it portrays families who don’t feel the need to hide their vitriol behind pleasantries. Nov 1, 2024 Full Review Guy Lodge Variety The Sparrow in the Chimney may be a crowded work, sparking and seizing with nervous energy, but there’s a mutually enhancing tension between the rough-and-tumble of the drama and the refinement of the filmmaking. Aug 16, 2024 Full Review Dustin Chang Floating World As with their last two films, Strange Little Cat and The Girl with the Spider, The Sparrow presents Zürcher's unique visual style. The difference is that Zürcher's scope of visual filmmaking has grown and much more expansive. Jun 26, 2025 Full Review Vadim Rizov Filmmaker Magazine The third feature by Switzerland’s admirably idiosyncratic Ramon and Silvan Zürcher, The Sparrow in the Chimney is a frustrating synthesis of their previous two films. Sep 17, 2024 Full Review Diego Batlle Otroscines.com It must be bluntly stated that the staging is prodigious and the performances are of impactful intensity, but the narrative is ladened under its moral weight and use of obvious symbolism. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 3/5 Aug 27, 2024 Full Review Hector A. Gonzalez InSession Film Zürcher tends to be more experimental when approaching this problematic family dynamic. Yet, he still maintains that humanist essence that makes this whole ordeal feel more personal and potent. Rated: A- Aug 26, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Karen, along with her husband Markus and their children, lives in her childhood home, left behind after the death of her mother. When her sister, Jule, visits with her family to celebrate Markus's birthday, the weekend opens old wounds and past traumas, unleashing repressed feelings that threaten to destroy their relationship and shatter Karen's grip on reality. The latest film from acclaimed writer and director Ramon Zücher (The Girl and The Spider), The Sparrow in the Chimney is a "darkly engrossing psychodrama of pent-up domestic tensions." (Variety) With "deep, bold dives into the nightmarish and the surreal" and a venomously comedic touch, this is the "rare film that feels like a catharsis for protagonist and director both." (The Film Stage)
Director
Ramon Zürcher
Producer
Silvan Zürcher
Screenwriter
Ramon Zürcher
Distributor
Film Movement
Production Co
Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, Zürcher Film
Genre
Drama
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 1, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 7, 2025
Runtime
1h 57m