Features Feb 23 2008 @ 01:30 pm
OSCARS 2008: Live Action Short Nominees
I am, I believe, optimistic to a fault sometimes. My experience in the past with short films has been less then joyous. Go to a local short film festival and you will be treated to what I mean. Shorts seem to be, for the most part, an excuse for directors with sub-par talent to get their ‘films’ seen by people other than their immediate family. But these are the Oscar nominees for short films, right? They have to be better than the usual experimental art-house dreck that gets labeled ’short film’, right? Right?
Well, here are my thoughts on who should win/who will win, although to be honest, most people make their Oscar predictions based on buzz and marketing, and since neither of those things exist for the short film nominees, I’m shooting in the dark.
At Night (Christian E. Christiansen & Louise Vesth, Denmark)
I’m not going to even slightly suggest that cancer, suicide, comas, and death aren’t subjects worth dealing with in film, but to have all of them crammed into a 40 minute span with no break is a bit much, even for my masochistic self. You need moments of humor in order to grapple with such heavy topics, and this story of 3 women in a cancer ward at Christmas has none.
Will it win? I hope not, but it is depressing enough to be a front runner.
Should it win? No. It shouldn’t.
The Mozart of Pickpockets (Philippe Pollet-Villard, France)
A sweet film about two bumbling pickpockets who luck out when they take in a homeless child with hidden talents. My second favorite of the lot.
Will it win? Not likely. The film has a certain charm to it but ends up being the most generic of the bunch.
Should it win? No. Its a competent film but not deserving of Oscar.
The Substitute (Andrea Jublin, Italy)
I will freely admit to not understanding this one in the slightest. It is a comedy, and I did laugh a few times, but I have to assume there was an Italian element to the humor that I just couldn’t grasp. An unlikely substitute teacher shows up for a class and proceeds to work them into a frenzy. Hi-jinks ensue, as well as a twist ending.
Will it win? This one is my dark horse simply because I don’t get it. I wouldn’t be surprised if it won, but I wouldn’t know why it did.
Should it win? Uh, no?
The Tonto Woman (Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown, United Kingdom)
The only short in English (and it’s actually from the U.K. - are Americans not making any good short films these days?), it’s an art house western based on a short story by Elmore Leonard. About a secluded woman scarred by her captivity among the Mojave Indians and the mysterious stranger who falls for her, I was underwhelmed. A romance needs time and chemistry, and neither of those exist here. That the only gunfight in the film is heard off screen doesn’t help matters.
Will it win? The most epic and ambitious of the bunch, this one is a likely contender.
Should it win? A romance without chemistry or logic and a western without a gunfight? Of course not.
Tanghi Argentini (Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans, Belgium)
I saved the best for last. This gem from Belgium is not only the shortest of the nominees (13 minutes) but it is also the standout. About a man who has to learn the tango in two weeks from a coworker in order to impress a woman he has met over the internet, Tanghi Argentini is charming, witty, and surprisingly touching.
Will it win? My money is on this one, and I’m betting that Oscar takes a shine to it.
Should it win? Yes, yes, yes!
So now you know a little bit more about a category that typically elicits no more than a “Huh?” from viewers on Oscar night, and if you get a chance to see Tanghi Argentini (iTunes might have it for sale next month), by all means, take it.
on Feb 23 2008 @ 1:38 pm 1. Joseph said …
I’ll be watching these today. Will post my thoughts on them later.
on Feb 23 2008 @ 9:56 pm 2. Phillip Johnston said …
I watched these this evening.
I really liked At Night but felt that it could have been a feature. I loved the concept of the three women striking up a friendship at the hospital. It had the potential to be even more powerful if they would developed the characters some more.
The Substitute wasn’t funny, clever, or even enjoyable. In fact, it was painful. I think they were trying to make a statement about adult ADD, but they failed sooooooo miserably that its embarrassing.
Tanghi Argentini really is the standout. It’s beautifully shot, really clever, and just plain delightful. I’ll be showing it to lots of people.
on Feb 24 2008 @ 8:03 am 3. Luke Harrington said …
I also appreciated At Night, but felt it either should have been half as long, or just made as a feature. I think Evan is right here about humor–the audience needs something to grab onto, and At Night lacks that.
Am I the only one that liked The Substitute? It was about…(wait for it)…Disillusionment with Adulthood! It wasn’t my favorite, but I thought it was fun.
Finally, let us always remember that The Tonto Woman was not primarily a western or a romance. It was a feminist rant.
And I thought it succeeded on that level.
on Feb 24 2008 @ 8:03 am 4. Luke Harrington said …
This site keeps moving my emoticons around. Did you break the emoticons, Evan?
on Feb 24 2008 @ 2:15 pm 5. Evan Derrick said …
I didn’t break them, not to my knowledge, although we need to get some new ones. In fact, I want to completely overhaul the commenting forms, add some more features, etc.
You can see the subjective nature of film and criticism in our likes and dislikes on these. I’m with you Phillip on The Substitute… what the heck was that? But At Night was almost unbearable for me, painfully so.
At least we can agree that Tanghi Argentini was the standout. I’ll be disappointed if it doesn’t win.
on Feb 25 2008 @ 1:03 am 6. Evan Derrick said …
Well, Pickpockets won, which is worse than Tanghi winning but better than the others winning.
Also, the shorts are all available for purchase on iTunes except Tanghi Argentini. What a travesty.
on Feb 25 2008 @ 1:14 pm 7. Joseph said …
Tanghi Argentini is also available. It’s the third row up from the bottom on the left.
on Feb 25 2008 @ 4:51 pm 8. Evan Derrick said …
So it is. It wasn’t up there when I checked the other day.