The portmanteau genre remains stubbornly alive, if only because awards season keeps on bringing us enjoyable anthologised releases of short films up for prizes. And so it proves again as British-based Shorts TV is releasing all the shorts up for Oscars this Sunday. These are in three categories – live action, animation and documentary – and it is in the first of these I have to say we find something mildly controversial which I have heard discussed by British industry professionals with pursed-lipped disapproval.
Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, a 40-minute adaptation of Roald Dahl’s work for Netflix featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, has been nominated for an Oscar in the live-action short film category. While Anderson deserves recognition for his work, one may question if he fits the criteria for this category, which is typically reserved for new and up-and-coming filmmakers. It may seem unfair for established, successful filmmakers like Anderson to compete in this category and potentially take away opportunities from lesser-known artists seeking their first Oscar win. This situation can be likened to Seinfeld’s Kramer, who joins a karate class and dominates the children in his group, even though they are technically at the same level as him.
Without a doubt, Henry Sugar is a great production, although it’s not my personal favorite in this genre. My preferred film would have to be Vincent René-Lortie’s intense Invincible, based on the true story of a teenage boy and his desperate escape from juvenile detention. Léokim Beaumier-Lépine gives an excellent performance as the troubled lead character. Knight of Fortune by Lasse Lyskjaer Noer is a Danish film that explores themes of grief and male loneliness. The story follows a widower who struggles to face his wife’s body at her funeral, only to find himself in a strange alliance with another man in a similar situation. While it is an enjoyable film, it does lean towards sentimentality in order to quickly wrap up the storyline, as many short films do. The After is a gripping and ambitious piece, featuring a powerful performance by David Oyelowo. The film follows the aftermath of a tragedy as seen through the lens of Nigerian-British photographer and artist Misan Harriman. While the direction is well-done, the script falls short in the final moments. Unfortunately, the worst film in this category has to be Nazrin Choudhury’s ridiculous Red, White and Blue. The film tells the story of a struggling single mother who becomes pregnant and travels to another state for an abortion. However, there is a major plot twist that involves an absurd and implausible behavior by one of the characters.
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I found a significant amount of sentimentality and preciousness in the animation category. One of the films, War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko by Dave Mullins, tells the whimsical story of World War I soldiers playing chess via carrier pigeon. Another film I enjoyed was Ninety-Five Senses by Jared and Jerusha Hess, voiced by Tim Blake Nelson. It follows the perspective of an old man looking back on his life with a tough sense of humor and harsh reality, something rarely seen in animated shorts. Tal Kantor’s Letter to a Pig, designed in a pen-and-ink style, depicts a Holocaust survivor sharing his traumatic experiences with a class of disinterested teens. The pig becomes a powerful symbol of his desire for revenge. Pachyderme by Stéphanie Clément is a charming but unremarkable memory from childhood. Yegane Moghaddam’s Our Uniform, a film from Iran, reflects on the filmmaker’s memories of her strict school uniform in Tehran. The elegant cut-out style is accompanied by a disclaimer, but in my opinion, the film should stand on its own without explanation.
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My top choice in the documentary category is The Barber of Little Rock by John Hoffman and Christine Turner, which centers on the story of Arlo Washington, a charismatic young African-American who not only ran a successful barber training school, but also provided financial support for local black businesses. I slightly preferred this film over The Last Repair Shop, which showcases the dedicated work of a musical-instrument-repair facility in Los Angeles that offers its services to students for free. While this film is admirable, it seemed overly confident about its own significance. Another stand-out documentary is Sean Wang’s Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó, a delightful portrayal of the friendship between two elderly Chinese women who live together. S Leo Chiang’s Island in Between is a fascinating exploration of Kinmen, a Taiwanese island near the coast of China that is deeply imbued with patriotism and underlying fear of China’s potential actions. Shiela Nevins’ The ABCs of Book Banning sheds light on the disturbing trend of banning books in American schools, with a refreshing approach of including the perspective of the children themselves. While it effectively covers the books that have been banned, restricted, or challenged, the focus on the children means that in-depth analysis is lacking.
This diverse compilation is alluring and captivating.
Source: theguardian.com
