The Sparrow in the Chimney

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The Sparrow in the Chimney

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1h 57m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

67%

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21 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 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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Matt Zoller Seitz

RogerEbert.com

It’s a disturbing, sometimes beautiful film that, by the end, is disquieting for all the wrong reasons.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 1, 2025

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Kyle Smith

Wall Street Journal

The movie is polished and bitter, like a fairy-tale poisoned apple.

Jul 31, 2025

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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

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Ria Dhull

Spectrum Culture

Zürcher is more focused on shock value than substance in The Sparrow in the Chimney; any knowledge we might gain about these characters through the film is immediately muddled, as we watch them commit incomprehensible act after incomprehensible act.

Aug 7, 2025

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Joseph Robinson

Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)

A sobering character study on the perils of avoidance, laced with just enough awkward humor to keep you from crying.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 2, 2025

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Jared Mobarak

Hey, Have You Seen ...?

This is a haunted house story by way of human truth rather than supernatural horror. Karen mustn’t defeat anything. She must only be willing to let go.

Rated: 10/10

Aug 1, 2025

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Michael S

A riveting psychological study of childhood trauma and its consequences.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/19/25

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Stephen C

Success in 1 hour and 57 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Filmed on location in Germany and dubbed and subtitled in the United States of America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dubbed and subtitled in worldwide studios!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/04/25

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Ramon Zürcher

Director

Maren Eggert

Karen

Britta Hammelstein

Jule

Luise Heyer

Liv

Andreas Döhler

Markus

Lea Zoe Voss

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The Sparrow in the Chimney: Trailer 1

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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

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