January is a horrible time for new movies. All of the recently released films (that aren’t 2014 awards season holdovers like American Sniper, Mr. Turner, A Most Violent Year, etc.) have been uniquely bad. Just look at Rotten Tomatoes lately, it’s brutal. So lucky for me we get a very awesome series provided every year at this time; the Oscar Nominated Short Films. Short Films are pretty much exclusively shown at film festivals, so if you don’t catch them there you won’t see them at all. So it’s very welcome that all of the Oscar nominated films in the short film categories get released as programs showcasing them all. They are broken down into Animated, Documentary, and Live Action. Unfortunately the documentary series is not shown everywhere, but hey two out of three ain’t so bad. The Live Action films together are long enough to support a full feature ticket price, the Animated ones are not given that only five films are nominated in each category. So the Animated program also gets a few extra films that are ‘Highly Commended’ that didn’t quiet make the cut to be nominated. First I’ll talk about the Animated program and then move on to the Live Action.
Me and My Moulton
Me and My Moulton by Torill Kove, a Norwegian with two prior nominations in this category, is a story of three sisters told from the perspective of the middle sister and covers their lives from late spring through the heart of summer to early autumn in the mid 1960s. It’s told in a manner that resembles how a child would recount their summer when returning to school. The tangents are fun and provide plenty of laughs and were perfectly twee, but the crux of the story rests on their desire to have a bike like all the other children. The animation style is crisp and straightforward, it would make a good children’s book. I think this one has to be the frontrunner because of the medium length (14 minutes), concise story that still allows for subplots and many characters. It was just a real crowdpleaser and an excellent way to start off the program.
Disney’s Feast, however, was my favorite of the bunch. I don’t think it will win because I think the Academy voters like something a little outside the box and a Disney film is certainly not that. This is trademark Disney. It is very reminiscent of the beginning segment of Up and I absolutely loved that Pixar film. Feast is about a young man hen he rescues a stray puppy, named Winston and their life together. The camera position in the animation is from the knees down, so it is entirely what the dog would see. The dog progressively gets more and more decadent things to eat and is a real glutton. But then, as things happen, a girl comes into the man’s life and things of course change. This was only 6 minutes long and it’s so impressive to get a full story told like this, even if it was a little emotionally manipulative. The animation was of feature length quality and this film got the most laughs from the audience. This would be my pick to win, but I think it’ll be difficult to win over the voters.
The Bigger Picture from the UK offers the most unique animation styles of the bunch. It is painting and stop motion coupled with miniature props and what appears to be physical lighting instead of animated. From a pure animation standpoint this is by far the most innovative. The story is much more dour than all of the other presentations and was the only film to not garner any laughs. It’s about two brothers as they struggle with each other to care for their elderly mother as she needs to go into a home. While it’s a touching little story at 7 minutes long it never gets the chance to be the focus because of all the crazy animation. Honestly, it was the perfect film to put in the middle of the compilation to break things up a bit and give us a flourish in just pure visuals.
The Netherland’s A Single Life is only a scant two minutes long. That’s pretty amazing to think about. You never really consider the length of a feature length film other than to say it was a short movie or a long movie, but having a film be only two minutes really makes you contemplate storytelling and editing. It’s a fully realized story in just those two minutes where a young woman finds out that her turntable can control time and fast forward, rewind and jump around in her own life. The abrupt ending was rather hilarious. This film really solidified a strong theme running through all the short films: time. All of them are about the passage of time in one’s life, whether it be just a summer or a whole lifetime. I was really impressed by all of the selections having such a strong uniting theme running through them and it made the whole program more enjoyable.
The Dam Keeper
The Dam Keeper was the longest of the lot at 18 minutes and reminded me more of Studio Ghibli films from Japan. The geography of the town was beautifully laid out and the world was wonderfully realized. The dam that protected the town from a mysterious ‘darkness’ is also similar to the anime series Attack on Titan. The themes of bullying, loneliness, and friendship were at the forefront and this seems like an especially timely story given what kids must endure growing up these days if they are even slightly different from the societal norm. I also really enjoyed the anthropomorphized animals here and it reminded me of one of my favorite animated films, Disney’s Robin Hood from 1973, which had Robin Hood as a fox and Friar Tuck as a badger.
Bus Story
After the five main films were shown, a further four ‘highly commended’ films were shown. They were Sweet Cocoon, Footprints, Duet, and Bus Story. Out of those four Bus Story was the one that could’ve been a true contender if it were nominated. They all continued the theme of the passage of time and its effect on us. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole program and would highly, highly recommend seeing it if you have the chance.
Parvaneh
Parvaneh (or Pari for short) was an excellent start to the Live Action program. From filmmaker Talkhon Hamzavi this film is about a young Afghan immigrant to Switzerland and her struggles to support her family back home. She does not have a full ID yet as she is just an asylum seeker so she is unable to send money back through Western Union. She befriends who she believes to be a homeless youth to have her send the money for her only to find out she is actually from a wealthy family. Before they can get back to send the money the shop has closed and they must wait until tomorrow. Spoiler: They become great friends over night at a party. This was a wonderfully inspirational story about friendship and the fleeting meetings in life that can become so much more than that. I think such hope was a great way to start the program and I really loved this film. At first I thought it would be my favorite, but the Live Action category turned out to be extremely strong.
Butter Lamp
Next up was Butter Lamp and it takes place in Tibet from director Hu Wei. This was the shortest of the films at 15 minutes. It is shot entirely straight on through the viewpoint of a photographer who takes family photos in front of a variety of backdrops. Most of them are from other locations in China or Tibet, but some are out of place like a seaside backdrop. The families who are having their portraits taken are very poor and some may never have had their photo taken before at all. The little vignettes are poignant and touching getting to meet these families for a fleeting instance. It was comical and melancholy at the same time. The big reveal is when the photographers are finished and the backdrop is removed to reveal they were in front of the Himalayas the entire time and a gigantic highway bridge is being built. This film got the loudest amount of applause out of all and I can see why the crowd loved it. It had a lot to say about Tibet/Chinese relations without being overt about it; something that Chinese filmmakers know all too well how to do.
This was one of the saddest films I’ve ever seen, perhaps even rivaling what I consider the saddest film, Dancer in the Dark. It has recognizable actors in Sally Hawkins (who was terrific in Blue Jasmine) and also features the voice of Jim Broadbent. It is about a old man who calls into a crisis center and the woman who takes that call. The film almost entirely takes place at the call center and we never see the man who calls in. The expressions of grief and concern that Hawkins is able to emote is one of the strongest performances of they year, female or otherwise. If this were a feature length film she would have a serious shot at winning Best Actress, I was that impressed.
For my money this should win. Aya was a 39 minute long film from Israel. Sarah Adler as Aya and Ulrich Thomsen as Mr. Overby weren’t actors I knew before seeing this film but I will be very keen to follow their careers after this. This film absolutely blew me away. It made me think of one of my favorite films of the year, Locke, since it took place mostly behind the wheel of car, but this time it has a woman who fakes being a driver to pick up business people from the airport and a man who is coming in to Israel to judge a music competition. This film really solidified a strong running theme in all the short films here; chance encounters and their impact on our lives. Just like the animated films focused on the passage of time the live action films had an equal laser focus on these fleeting moments and how important it is to treat every person we meet as a possibility of something great. I cannot praise this film enough. If it were a feature length film it would’ve been in my top 20 for the year, maybe even top 10. If you get a chance to see this movie take it. I loved this.
Boogaloo and Graham is about two young boys and their pet chickens in war torn Belfast in the 1970s. I think films about the conflict in Northern Ireland are very interesting and I try to see them all. The upcoming ’71 looks to be another in that great sub-genre. Here though it is a comic take about a family, nothing sweeping about the conflict itself. The boys are hilarious in their honesty and their care for these chicks is really heartwarming. It was great to have a more lighthearted film to end the program as things had been very serious most of the time. There were moments of danger as well and it gave the film a surprising weight. There wasn’t a single film here that I had quibbles with and the house was packed and was well receiving for this unique experience. If you get a chance to see any of the short film programs you really have to take it. All of these films come very highly recommended and you’ll be able to impress your friends at any Oscar party with knowledge of this obscure category.
Go to this website to find out more, including where to see these programs: http://shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/
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