Why cats? In German folklore, cats are witches’ familiars. In 1986 Berlin, they were also survivors—feral populations living in the death strip (the Todesstreifen ). Novemberkatzen likely repurposed the cat as an anti-heroic figure: neither dissident nor collaborator, but an animal that slips through ruins, ignored by border guards. The November setting recalls the 1918 German Revolution (Novemberrevolution) and the 1938 pogroms (Reichskristallnacht). By 1986, November had become a month of remembrance and gloom. The film’s cats thus carry historical weight—silent carriers of a past that will not bury itself.
Despite receiving a "particularly valuable" rating (Prädikat besonders wertvoll) from the German Film and Media Evaluation Board (FBW), "Novemberkatzen" failed to achieve mainstream commercial success. It premiered in West Germany on September 30, 1986, but unlike many of its contemporaries, it never received a widespread international release or a significant DVD distribution later in life. This lack of accessibility created a vacuum for film enthusiasts. Over the years, low-quality digital copies—primarily DVD rips—began circulating on niche blogs and forums, labeled with metadata intended to categorize the file's source and quality. Novemberkatzen -1986-.DVD Rip.48
: The young lead delivers a remarkably grounded performance. She portrays Ilse not as a tragic victim, but as a watchful, pragmatic child who finds small moments of solace in her imagination and her bond with her brother. Why cats
might refer to a specific part number, a version, or a technical specification like the frame rate or bit rate used during the rip. Novemberkatzen likely repurposed the cat as an anti-heroic
that might hold the rights to older German children's classics.