Annual Top Films Lists

Top 150 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2020: #12. The Girl and the Spider – Ramon Zürcher

Published on January 3, 2020

Das Mädchen und die Spinne

Swiss director Ramon Zürcher at last returns with sophomore feature, Das Mädchen und die Spinne (The Girl and the Spider), a full seven years after his fantastic German-language debut The Strange Little Cat in 2013. Once again working with co-writer twin brother Silvan Zürcher and DP Alexander Hasskerl, their latest is produced by Aline Schmid and Adrian Blaser. The cast consists of Henriette Confurious (Beloved Sisters, 2014), Liliane Amaut, Ursina Lardi (The White Ribbon, 2009; Lore, 2012), Sabine Timoteo, Andre M. Hennicke (Downfall, 2004), and Flurin Giger.

Gist: Lisa is about to move into her own apartment, leaving Mara behind. As everyone assists Lisa with the move, including friends and family, the narrative becomes a poetic ballad about transience in what’s being described as a “tragicomic catastrophe.”

Release Date/Prediction: The Zürchers filmed The Girl and the Spider in mid-2019 and are currently in postproduction. The Strange Little Cat premiered in the Forum at the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival and it’s likely the brothers could compete in one of the sidebars in Cannes.

Nicholas Bell

Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.