Welcome
to our special OSCAR WEEK SERIES of
reviews. This series will go through the seven categories in which an award is
given based on the entire film (rather than any one constituent element). This
third review in the series will go through the LIVE ACTION SHORT nominees.
ENNEMIS INTÉRIEURS
Ennemis Intérieurs is a short film out of
France directed by Selim Azzazi. The film entirely centers around an interview
between an Algerian man (born when it was part of France) applying for his
French citizenship after having lived there for many years. The main point of
the film is the focus on the way this is conducted and how he is connected to
potential terror threats by virtue of being Muslim. Overall, I think that this
film is effective and will certainly land with many even if it has a few flaws.
I
think that the strengths in this film primarily lie in it being compelling
narratively and highly topical. It really addresses something in the public
consciousness right now with generally solid effect. I also thought that the
central construction of this as a short film made a tonne of sense and paid off
in the long run. I think that the film has some awkwardly constructed portions
of dialogue and, on occasion, bites off a little more than it can chew in terms
of expansiveness of its story.
Ryan’s Score: 8/10
LA FEMME ET LE
TGV
La Femme et le TGV is a short film out of
Switzerland. Directed by Timo von Gunten, this film tells the story of a woman
who waves flags at a train that passes through her town every morning which
connects her with the driver which ends up leading to positive life changes.
Overall this is an innocent, sweet, and funny short film that is a fine
appetizer but not an entrée in terms of its depth.
This
reminds me of many of a film of a quirky older woman doing something silly on
the surface but growing connections and evolving as a character as a result. In
that sense, this is actually pretty strong. Unlike something like The Meddler from last year, this
actually managed to capture that sweetness necessary to get audience buy in.
Moreover, I think this is a generally well-acted piece. My overall difficulty
with it is its simplicity and the lack of impact it had on me. It was fine to
watch but hasn’t approached my consciousness since. An enjoyable pick-up
viewing but not something that will be remembered for years to come.
Ryan’s Score: 6.5/10
SILENT NIGHTS
Silent Nights is a short film out of
Denmark about an immigrant from Africa who is poor and living in Denmark and the
relationship he strikes up with a woman who works at a local shelter. The film
is directed by Aske Bang. Put simply, I found this short to be inane and
frustrating and my least favorite of any Oscar nominated short film I saw in
2016.
This
film contains a variety of seriously frustrating choices by characters and
situations that inherently make the audience uncomfortable. In some cases, that
sentence is a positive. Here it was just troubling with no underlying point to
keep the audience going through the struggle. Every time the story would turn
and a new frustrating element would arise I wondered why this short was not
over. It isn’t a comedy so I can’t call it a comedy of errors, but it certainly
was full of errors and is one short I wouldn’t recommend. In an effort to drag
out a positive I thought the performance of the lead female (Malene Beltoft
Olsen) was really strong and the story did set up in a way that it might have
been interesting.
Ryan’s Score: 4/10
SING
Sing is a short film by director Kristóf
Deák. The film tells the story of a girl who starts at a new school with a high
caliber, but open to join, choir. All is not as it initially seems and the
young girl, her friend, and their classmates must overcome this situation
together. Overall I found this to be smart, charming, and a delight to watch.
Sing isn’t anything seriously
moving or powerful. What it is is charming to no end and entertaining. If Sing Street was arguably the feel good
film of the year, Sing might be the
feel good short of the year. The entire audience was laughing and applauding
through the end of this delightful film that never overstays its welcome and
just works. The only issues with it are that it is a touch cliché and really
doesn’t carry any of the dramatic heft that it attempts to carry at one point
in the story.
Ryan’s Score: 8/10
TIMECODE
Timecode is a short from Spain by
director Juanjo Giménez Peña. This short tells the story of two parking garage
attendants who discover they have a similar passion which they record nightly
on the security footage for one another. This is another pleasant short that is
fairly simple in construction and fine in execution.
This
short was actually kind of inspiring. I am by no means a filmmaker, but the
creation of this short made me wonder what I could do with a couple friends, a
camera, and this kind of compelling idea. It is to the point, simple, and puts
a smile on your face. This short doesn’t jazz anything up, per se, it just
takes you through this situation and makes you fall in love with these two
guards. The editing in this really worked wonders for me personally. I think
what this film lacks is any kind of production value. It is so simple that it
lacks that certain something extra that a superior filmmaker might bring to the
table. Don’t get me wrong, Timecode
works, just not as well as it might have in better hands.
Ryan’s Score: 6.5/10
PICKS AND PREDICTIONS:
Ryan’s Pick: Sing
Ryan’s Prediction: Ennemis Intérieurs
GoldDerby
Experts Prediction: Ennemis Intérieurs
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