Movie Reviews from the Dark

Greetings again from the darkness.  The Dallas Magnolia Theatre again presented showings of all Oscar nominated short films.  This has become one of my favorite movie events of the year.  Short films are quite a different art form than feature length films.  Connections with characters must be made so quickly and interest in the story must be gained within the first couple of minutes, or all is lost. 

It’s really a shame more short films don’t get distributed with mainstream movies.  It would be a nice bonus for the viewers and the filmmakers.  You know what I mean if you saw Toy Story 3 at the theatre this year.  Below is a quick recap of this year’s nominees.  They are by category and in order of my preference.

LIVE ACTION

 THE CRUSH (Ireland) by Michael Creagh.  It’s the age old tale of schoolboy crush on his teacher.  Only this one has quite a twist.  When Ardal discovers that his teacher is engaged to be married, he decides to save her from a marriage to this less-than-admirable character by challenging him to a duel.  This one makes a couple of really good statements in a short period of time and would have been even better if a real actor, rather than the director’s son, had been chosen to play Ardal.

 WISH 143 (UK) by Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite.  A teenage terminally ill cancer patient tells the make-a-wish representative that his wish is to lose his virginity before he dies.  When his story hits the newspaper, it doesn’t go as he wished.  With a little help from a Priest and a very thoughtful young lady played by the very talented Jodie Whittaker (Venus), the boy’s dreams are surpassed in a warm and surprising manner.

 THE CONFESSION (UK) by Tanel Toom.  Two young catholic school boys are on the verge of their first confession.  Being a bit confused on just what to confess, they stage a prank that inevitably goes horribly wrong.  Their response to this tragedy leads to yet another tragedy that is surely to scar for life.  Not very uplifting, but very well done.

 GOD OF LOVE (USA) by Luke Matheny.  The director plays a love song crooner who also happens to be an expert at darts, while terribly misguided on love.  His prayers are answered by the Olympus Foundation in a box of love darts.  Yes, these darts ignite the openness required for two people to fall in love.  While it doesn’t turn out exactly as he had hoped, Olympus rewards his efforts with a promotion to full Cupid status.

 NA WEWE (Belgium) by Ivan Goldschmidt.  This is mid 90’s Burundi and a war between the Hutus and Tutsis is waging.  The similarites to Don Cheadle‘s film Hotel Rwanda are inescapable, but this is limited to one incident where a van full of passengers is stopped and the frightening process of sorting out begins.

ANIMATION

 DAY AND NIGHT (USA) by Teddy Newton.  I feel a bit guilty selecting this Pixar production as my favorite, but it is simply another example of the genius we have come to expect from these people.  Sunny dispositioned “Day” stumbles into the dark, gloomy “Night” and the battle begins.  It’s only when they see the world through each other’s eyes that they began to celebrate their similarities and differences.  Whatever you do, don’t mistake this for the lame Tom Cruise movie, Knight and Day.

 THE GRUFFALO (Germany) by Jakob Schuh and Max Lang.  This probably would have been my favorite had it been original instead of based on the children’s book by Julia Donaldson.  The story, message and animation are all superb and it even has hints of Dr. Seuss!  Care for any Owl Ice Cream?

 LET’S POLLUTE (USA) by Geefwee Boedoe.  Created by a Disney animator, this brilliant work is done in the style of a 1960’s educational film … only with top notch satire that instructs the viewer on how to be a better polluter!  The voice-over is tremendous and the lessons can’t be missed.  Want it.  Waste it.

 MADAGASCAR, A JOURNEY DIARY (French) by Bastien Dubois.  This is the most artfully drawn of the nominees.  The watercolors are beautiful and the movements are unique and eye-catching.  Even the music is terrific and unusual.  Presented to us as scrapbook pages describing a trip, we experience many people and the culture, and even the affect on the artist.  This one just needed a bit more substance and it could have jumped to the top of the list.

 THE LOST THING (Australia) by Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann.  A guy discovers a most unusual creature just by being a bit more observant than the masses who seem to be lost in their own world.  He helps the thing find it’s place in the world and proves the point that we all belong somewhere … oh yeah, and pay attention to your surroundings!

(2-25-10) Greetings again from the darkness.  For the past few years, the Magnolia Theatre in Uptown Dallas has allowed a limited engagement for the Oscar nominated short films, both live action and short.  This has become an annual event for me … one that I really enjoy.  Short films are a different kind of art from feature films.  The characters and story must materialize quickly and, in the best ones, strike a chord with the viewer within the first two minutes.  An additional benefit of getting to see these nominated shorts is that it provides a connection when the winners are announced.  It’s unfortunate more people don’t get to see these.

 The 2009 nominees do not provide the overall strength of the past couple of years, but there are some moments of brilliance nonetheless.  Although, I will soon be posting my Oscar predictions and preferences, you will also see below that I have given you which of the shorts I consider to be the best of 2009.  I have broken these out by category – Animation and Live Action.

 ANIMATION

French Roast (France) – you have to enjoy watching the French poke a bit of fun at themselves.  Here a snooty businessman sits in a café all high and mighty until he realizes he has lost his wallet.  There is some humor and a couple of nice moments, but overall, this one was a little lame.

 Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty(Ireland) – this one is my favorite of the animated group.  It features wonderful voice acting for the off-center grandmother who frightens the heck out of her grandchild with her bedtime story “loosely” based on Sleeping Beauty.  The grandmother seems to bring quite a bit of emotional baggage to her storytelling and it had me laughing out loud.

 The Lady and the Reaper (Spain) – the weakest of the entries, although one of the better premises.  An older woman is ready to join her deceased husband, but the medical staff, including the braggadocios doctor, really do serious battle with the frustrated reaper.

A Matter of Loaf and Death (UK) – another strong entry based on the Wallace and Gromit characters (previous Oscar winners).  Here Wallace falls for the wrong woman and Gromit frantically tries to save him.

Logorama (Argentina) – maybe the most creative of the entries and certainly makes a social statement based on the brand name world we live in.  Just about every major product or company logo makes an appearance here as Ronald McDonald goes on a crime spree.

LIVE ACTION

Kavi (India/USA) – Kavi is a young boy serving as a work slave with his parents.  Kavi dreams of playing cricket with the rich boys who get to go to school.  There is a statement at the end of the film that says 23 million people are working as slaves throughout the world.  This is a glimpse into the daily heartache of those poor souls.

 The New Tenants (Denmark/USA) – this one plays out like a cross between Tarantino and Polanski, complete with violence and emotional distress.  A gay couple discovers that the previous tenant was brutally murdered.  This leads to a very odd day and an even stranger ending.

Miracle Fish (Australia) – an eight year old boy is mad at the world because his mother disappoints him on his birthday.  Turns out someone else was mad at the world on the same day and when these two worlds collide, it’s not pretty. 

The Door (Ireland) – based on the very personal aftermath of the Chernobyl accident, this dark and dreary story brings to light what happens when a government doesn’t openly communicate with its citizens.

Instead of Abracadabra (Sweden) – offbeat story is my favorite of the live action shorts.  It has a little Napolean Dynamite in the form of a 25-year-old wannabe-magician who still lives at home.  His parents have become less tolerant, but his magic show proves to be quite a surprise at his dad’s 60^th birthday party.