Live Action Short Film Nominees (Oscars 2020)

Yesterday I saw all five of the nominated films in the Live Action Short category. I'll present my reviews in the order the films were shown.

A SISTER (Belgium)

We join the film as a woman in peril makes a phone call from the car she's riding in with who appears to be her date. A date that has gone horribly wrong. Next, we see the person receiving the call who tries to make sense of the situation. It's a tense, simmer-beneath-the-surface thriller that we're not sure will turn out the way we hope. I was glued to the edge of my seat.

BROTHERHOOD (Tunisia, Canada, Qatar, Sweden)

A Tunisian family's harmony is disrupted when the eldest son, who has been gone for a long time, returns home to introduce his new pregnant Syrian bride. His father doesn't approve of what he suspects his son has been up to during his hiatus from their community and tensions rise. Perhaps I have dysfunctional oppressive family fatigue, but I didn't feel like there was anything new in this one. My least favorite of the bunch.

THE NEIGHBORS' WINDOW (USA)

A New York family of five is going through the motions of life—Dad works, Mom cares for the kids, they're comfortable financially. One night after the kids are in bed, the couple notices a couple in the building across the way making love with no inhibitions or worries that people may see them (though they have no blinds on their windows). At first they laugh, but then they become borderline obsessed with watching this couple, who appears to have an active sex and social life. Then, something changes and the perspective shifts. Basically, this is a good "grass is always greener" tale that was inspired by a true story. I had no idea I'd cry at the end—but I did.

SARIA (USA)

In March of 2017, 41 children lost their lives in a fire at a safe home in Guatemala. This film recounts the days leading up to the fire, including a riot led by female residents (who suffered sexual abuse and torture at the hands of their caretakers), who briefly escaped only to be captured, beaten and locked back up. In that lock up, a fire broke out and those responsible for guarding the girls didn't unlock the door to let them out, resulting in mass fatalities. This film was especially hard to watch because at the time of the real event, I worked for a Guatemalan company and spent time in the city near where it happened just a month later. The citizens were still raw with grief and searching for answers. Unfortunately, justice has not yet been achieved for the victims; perhaps this terrifying glimpse into what it was probably like will help that.

NEFTA FOOTBALL CLUB (France, Algeria, Tunisia

The final film in the presentation was the only one that provided solid comedy, but for that I was grateful. The story follows two Tunisian brothers who find a donkey wearing headphones. Yes, you read that right—the donkey is listening to tunes on a mountainside, so the boys make the most of the encounter, listening to the music and stealing the contents of the donkey's load to take home to their village. What they do with those contents left me smiling and caused the audience around me to spontaneously clap. The most charming of the five films, this just may be this year's winner.

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Live Action Short Film Nominees (Oscars 2018)

Today I saw all five of the nominated films in the Live Action Short category. I'll present my reviews in the order the films were shown.

DEKALB ELEMENTARY (USA)

Based on true events, this film tells the story of a school shooting in Atlanta that was halted due to the kindness of the bookkeeper. When the intruder enters, he's agitated and angry, planning to kill and okay with being killed as a result. Once the woman at the front desk develops a rapport with him, he begins to calm down and show remorse for the terrifying situation he's caused for the whole community. The acting is phenomenal and the lesson is clear: Always start with compassion.

THE SILENT CHILD (UNITED KINGDOM)

Libby is a difficult child for her parents to handle—she's deaf and mostly unresponsive to her hearing family. They hire Joanne, who teaches Libby to communicate through sign language and her life is transformed. The issue is the mother who is reluctant to keep up with it because she wants her to integrate into regular school and get by on lip reading. Inspired by true events, the title cards at the end give evidence of many children who needlessly suffer loneliness because of this disability. Very moving and infuriating.

MY NEPHEW EMMETT (USA)

This film, again capturing an event that actually happened in Mississippi in 1955, tells of the vicious racism that impacted a peaceful black family who were simply living their lives. When Emmett comes to live with them from Chicago, he's unfamiliar with the dangers of being black in that part of the country, and he pays the price. Incredibly disturbing, but unfortunately something our country still needs to see.

THE ELEVEN O'CLOCK (AUSTRALIA)

The only comedy in the bunch, this film provides welcome relief in the form of a silly narrative about two men who claim to be the doctor in one shrink's office. The puzzle is figuring out who is the true patient. Although I solved the mystery relatively early into it, the dialog was still enjoyable and the actors charming, trying to ping-pong us into thinking one thing and then changing the next.

WATU WOTE: ALL OF US (GERMANY/KENYA)

The final film in the presentation told the horrific and beautiful (true) story of a bus attack along the Kenya/Somalia border. The Muslim attackers, desiring to take Christian lives for their treatment of Islam had a tough time distinguishing the Christians from the Muslims because the Muslims gave them their clothing to masquerade as one of their own. They protected their supposed enemy in the face of a group interpreting their religion in a twisted, irrational way. As a result, many lives were saved that would otherwise have been lost. I'll be thinking about this one for days.

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Live Action Short Nominees (Oscars 2017)

Tonight I saw all five of the nominated films in the Live Action Short category. I'll present my reviews in the order they were shown.

SING

The year is 1991 and a young girl moves to a new school in Hungary. There she joins the award-winning choir, but is told not to sing loudly like her new friend. Soon the students learn there are several children being "silenced" by their instructor, so they have to make a decision: respect the authority of their corrupt leader or resist. The results are delightful.

SILENT NIGHTS (Denmark)

A young Danish woman is a worker in a homeless shelter when she comes upon a black man from Ghana being beaten in the park. She chases off his attackers and nurses him back to health, falling in love with him in the process. It seems like a match made in heaven until his secret is revealed, which changes everything. A selfless story about what true love looks like in a world coated in racism.

TIMECODE (Spain)

Luna and Diego are security guards at a public parking garage in Spain. When the supervisor asks Luna to check the surveillance footage for a possible incident with one of the parked cars, she obeys and discovers something extraordinary. What she does next will bring a smile to the face of anyone who has even the tiniest sense of humor. A refreshing comedy.

ENNEMIS INTERIEURS (France)

When an Algerian man who has lived in France his whole life applies for French citizenship in the 1990s, the interview quickly becomes an interrogation. Asked to give up the names of potential terrorists who have become friends to the man, he is faced with a terrible decision if he wants to continue life as he knows it. A frustrating, tense watch because the topic is so unfortunately timely.

LA FEMME ET LE TGV (Switzerland)

A lonely old baker finds joy each day at waving at the trains that pass by her house, as she's done since her now-grown son was a boy. One day as she's cutting grass, she finds a note in her yard that had been tossed out of one of the trains. It was written by a conductor that wanted her to know how happy it made him to see her wave as he went by on his lonely journeys. She responds and the two become pen pals, sending notes and gifts back and forth. I smiled throughout this entire film and found it especially wonderful that it was based upon true events. My favorite of the nominees this year.

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Live Action Short Film Nominees (Oscars® 2016)

Last night I saw all five of the nominated films in the Live Action Short category. I'll present my reviews in the order they were shown.

AVE MARIA (Palestine, France and Germany)

Of all the things Orthodox Jewish settlers could crash into in the West Bank, a convent of Catholic nuns is unlikely. But that's what happens here when a family trip takes a turn (literally) into one. Problem is: the nuns have taken a vow of silence and due to the Sabbath, the family is unable to use the telephone to call for help. Through a series of comedic events, the two groups together find a surprising solution. The one is light and the story is cute; I just don't think I'd consider this Oscar caliber material.

SHOK (Kosovo and UK)

Amidst the Yugoslav wars two young boys form a deep friendship that is tested repeatedly by the pressures of the time. Instead of making choices about what games to play each night, they're faced with much more grim decisions—some even a matter of life and death. The film is about war, but above all else, about love. Though hard to watch because of the subject matter (these horrors took place not long ago, after all), it's expertly done with two lead actors that deliver on every note.

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY (Germany and Austria)

A divorced couple shares custody of their young daughter. The father comes to pick the girl up for a routine weekend and the tension between the parents is evident. The father quickly takes his daughter shopping to spoil her with new toys, then makes a trip to the nearby bumper cars for additional fun. Things only go sideways when he tricks her into taking passport pictures at a nearby photo booth. The girl soon realizes they're not having a normal weekend and calls him out on it. Just how far (and how fast) this weekend goes off the rails is what makes this my pick for the Oscar. I don't think I breathed for the last 10 minutes. It was that good.

STUTTERER (UK and Ireland)

There have been six months of flirtatious Facebook bliss for a couple and now there's a chance for them to meet. The man has reservations because he suffers from a severe stuttering problem—so much that he's learned sign language to imply to strangers that he's simply deaf. As the day approaches, he at first hides, then practices his speech, hoping not to disappoint this love of his life. It's a sweet, sometimes funny story with a lot of heart.

DAY ONE (USA)

An Afghan-American interpreter is assigned to an Afghanistan tour of duty with the U.S. military, and on her first day the team is sent to investigate a report of bombs in a nearby residence. As the weapons are found and the man of the house is being arrested, his wife goes into labor—with complications. As the only woman present, the interpreter has to begin acting as a doctor to save the mother and baby. 

This was the only of the five films where people actually got up and left the theater. It was incredibly intense and touched on several sensitive subject matters (religion, birth, war, death, etc.). But I stuck it out and was glad I did, if not only for the life-affirming ending, but the photo of the real interpreter, for which the film was based, that appears at the end.

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Live Action Short Film Nominees (Oscars® 2015)

Tonight I saw all five of the nominated films in the Live Action Short category. I'll present my reviews in the order they were shown.

PARVANEH (Switzerland)

When Afghan refugee Pari (Nissa Kashani) attempts to send money home to her ailing father from Zurich, she realizes she can't because she's not of legal age for the wire transfer. A chance meeting with a local shows her that not everything in life is awful; sometimes you just need a friend. I found this story (and its actors) sweet, but I didn't feel it carried the emotional heft of the usual nominees.

BUTTER LAMP (France and China)

A photographer in a remote Tibetan Village makes lasting memories for townspeople and tourists with his inventive backdrops. Yep, that's basically it, and it's as exciting as it sounds. Short of a few charming instances, I was pretty bored throughout.

THE PHONE CALL (United Kingdom)

Most likely the one that the Academy will crown the winner, this is the most traditional of the nominees. A linear story of a sad man (Jim Broadbent) calling a crisis clinic to reach a sympathetic soul (Sally Hawkins). It's a tender conversation filled with expected tension that perhaps goes on too long (although in real life those moments admittedly feel like forever). Hawkins shines, but there's nothing new here to see.

AYA (Israel and France)

The film I'd vote for if I had a ballot, Aya, combines kidnapping and a case of mistaken identity with a happenstance road trip. Did I mention this is also a rom com? I fell for this film from the opening frame and it had me through to the very end. Well-drawn characters, unpredictable dialogue and enough action to make it feel like it was speeding by (though it was the lengthiest of the entries). I couldn't find fault with anything here, except that I wish it had been a full-length feature so I could spend more time with the characters.

BOOGALOO AND GRAHAM (Northern Ireland)

Two adorable children get baby chicks from their Dad as a gift and refuse to part with them when they grow into full chickens. Their pregnant mother is not amused, so they go to great lengths to protect their pets. This sweet scenario happens amidst the contrast of terrorism and violence that plagued Belfast in the late '70s. A tender look at the layer beneath the historic geographical unrest.

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Live Action Short Film Nominees (Oscars® 2014)

Tonight I saw all five of the nominated films in the Live Action Short category. I'll present my reviews in the order they were shown.

HELIUM (Denmark)

I want to know where Denmark trains their child actors because I have yet to see a weak performance from any of them. In this story, a young child named Alfred is terminally ill. He has a love for balloons—hot air, blimp, etc. so the adults fill his hospital room them to cheer him up. It's not until a hospital worker develops a special bond with Alfred, and makes up a "Helium" heaven that the child is able to accept his tragic fate. Beautifully written and wonderfully acted; a tender reminder of what's important in life.

THE VOORMAN PROBLEM (United Kingdom)

Familiar actors and an unbelievable situation make this lighthearted entry one of the easiest of the nominees to digest. A psychiatrist is sent to a prison to evaluate an insane inmate who thinks he's a God and is forced to confront the fact that he may indeed be one. Brilliant "what if" that reminds us to be careful how we define "crazy."

JUST BEFORE LOSING EVERYTHING (France)

The strongest entry (and my pick for the win) comes from the lengthiest of the nominees, with a 30-minute running time that flies by. A woman is desperate to escape her abusive husband and take her children with her in this race-against-the-clock situation. If this film were a book, it would be one of the best page-turners I've ever read. It conveys the fear, the pain, the shame and the hope associated with such a plot and has you wondering if she'll pull it off right to the very last frame.

THAT WASN'T ME (Spain)

The horrific dangers of the Sierra Leone are magnified in this brutal, violent look at what can (and probably has) happened in one of the most volatile patches of the world. Two humanitarian doctors are taken hostage trying to cross a sensitive border and the torture that follows is unspeakable. The humanity that emerges from the awful situations they endure is what redeems the images in the end. Still, certain parts of this story will be forever burned into my brain and I'm not sure I'm okay with that.

DO I HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING? (Finland)

Women everywhere will cheer and laugh along with this sweet, hilarious take on an over-scheduled family trying to get themselves ready to attend the wedding of their friends. The husband is endearing, the kids are adorable and the mom is—well—super. Delightful romp, without question.

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Live Action Short Film Nominees (Oscars 2013)

Yesterday I saw all five of the nominated films in the Live Action Short category. I'll present my reviews in the order they were shown.

DEATH OF A SHADOW (Belgium/France)

This sci/fi head scratcher centers around a purgatory-dwelling soul who died in the war and is now tasked with photographing the shadows of death. These 'moments' he captures are then collected for a ghoulish gallery managed by a more dominant presence, who may or may not be evil. It's all very confusing, but the haunting elements and beautiful cinematography hold the audience attention well.

HENRY (Canada)

Another sad look at the progression of dementia in the elderly—this film focuses on Henry, a man who desperately misses his beloved wife Maria and can't face the fact that she is gone. The character is treated with dignity and the story is bittersweet as we see Henry's memories brought to life through his own confusion.

CURFEW (USA)

The strongest of the five, this short brings us into the life of a troubled brother and sister. They're trying to navigate their adult lives, which are littered with drugs and abuse, and find a common purpose in the sister's young daughter Sophia. This is sad, funny, poignant and unfortunately relevant in today's tumultous times.

BUZKASHI BOYS (Afghanistan/USA)

Two boys maintain a friendship and a sense of normalcy in one of the most dangerous areas of the world. What's remarkable about the film is not the plot (as we've seen this coming-of-age message time and time again), but the fact that the filmmakers shot on location in Kabul with the blessing of an international film alliance.

ASAD (South Africa/USA)

A young Somali boy has the weight of the world on his shoulders, collecting food and saving friends from armed soldiers who will kill them in the blink of an eye. It's a tender story that is made lighter by the clever screenwriting and somewhat unexpected ending.

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A Nun Who Used to Kiss Elvis

Hard to believe, but it's true--at one time, sister Dolores Hart appeared alongside Elvis, and other notable stars, in Hollywood films. Today? She's a nun!

See her fascinating story in the new documentary short film God is the Bigger Elvis, which debuts on HBO this Thursday, April 5.

Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts

Tonight I saw the Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts.

Rather than review all five, I'll just write three words to describe each of them based on my perceptions.

Pentecost (Ireland)

Funny, Relatable, Clever

Raju (Germany/India)

Depressing, Sad, Long

The Shore (Northern Ireland)

Comedic, Warm, Satisfying

Time Freak (USA)

Manic, Predictable, Exaggerated

Tuba Atlantic (Norway)

Silly, Ridiculous, Unique

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Live Action Short Film Nominees (Oscars® 2011)

Tonight I saw all five of the nominated films in the Live Action Short category. I'll present my reviews in the order they were shown:

THE CONFESSION (United Kingdom)

What begins as a coming-of-age comedy based on two young boys discovering what it means to be Catholic rapidly turns into a dark, hopeless exploration of bad things happening to good people. Though the ending does provide closure, it's far from satisfying.

WISH 143 United Kingdom

A light look at what decisions we make when faced with our own mortality, this story centers on a 15-year-old boy who asks a charitable organization for one final wish: to have sex with a woman. Soon his virginity becomes the talk of the town and measures are taken to ensure his dream is fulfilled. Very cute, if you can suspend the disbelief long enough to enjoy it.

NA WEWE (Belgium)

The year is 1994. Rwanda is enduring a horrific civil war. When a van full of citizens is stopped by group of armed men, they each have to prove their nationality to stay alive. The tension is unimaginable, as we don't know who is telling the truth or who is lying. Thankfully, a U2 song interrupts the chaos for a moment of peace.

THE CRUSH (Ireland)

The strongest of the five nominees, this delightful short is short and sweet. A young boy falls in love with his second-grade teacher and challenges her fiancé to a duel for her hand in marriage. It's funny, sad, scary and completely charming.

GOD OF LOVE

A man is smitten with the drummer in his band, but unfortunately she's hot for his best friend (who is also in the band). He prays for her to return his affections, and as an answer to that prayer, receives in the mail a box of cupid-like arrows that possess supernatural powers. As he goes about casting love spells, he learns a bit more about relationships. It's a clever idea, but the execution was almost too wink-ridden to truly appreciate.

Live Action Short Film Nominees (Oscars® 2010)

Tonight I saw all five of the nominated films in the Live Action Short category. I'll present my reviews in the order they were shown.

KAVI (India)

In this dismal drama, a young boy desperately wants to go to school, but instead must work to repay his father's debt by constructing bricks. It's inspiring to see how resourceful and clever this slave child is, but the scenes of abuse his family endures make the film almost too unbearable to appreciate.

THE NEW TENANTS (Denmark)

A gay couple moves into an apartment that was recently vacated due to the murder of its former tenant. After a somewhat witty rant from one of the occupants, there is a knock at the door, which results in the first of four visitors that take this potentially smart concept past any point of pleasurable comedy. It feels more like a college film project than an Academy Award nominated piece. Plus, the ending is just silly.

MIRACLE FISH (Australia)

A child of modest means goes to school on his birthday only to be teased by his classmates for not getting the latest toys as gifts. He heads to the sick room where he dreams of having the school all to himself, free of the pain. When he wakes up, the hallways are dark and the classrooms are empty, so he begins to enjoy the new-found freedom. It's very satisfying to watch this victim of a bully dive into treats he normally wouldn't get and take pleasure in the solace that comes with eliminating negativity in life. But he soon finds out he's not alone and the film makes a sharp turn. Luckily, the impact of the message remains crystal clear.

THE DOOR (Ireland)

Only those familiar with the 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl will fully absorb the tragedy played out here, as a family struggles to navigate their loss and suffering. The first scene, though relevant in its purpose, is vastly out of pace with the rest of the film, which makes it hard to accept the muted rhythm that permeates each additional scene. Nonetheless, a powerful snapshot of a horrible historical event.

INSTEAD OF ABRACADABRA (Sweden)

The only blatant comedy of the bunch, this silly scenario centers around a 25-year-old man who wants nothing more than to be a professional magician. He tests tricks out on his parents (sometimes unsuccessfully), shocks children at birthday parties and develops a crush on a pretty blond, whom he tries to impress with his hobby. This is a fun, if not pointless, ride to take, and the ending is fabulous.

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It's probably not hard to guess that my pick for this year's Live Action Short Film statue goes to Miracle Fish, but I wouldn't be terribly disappointed if The Door prevailed instead.