The Academy Awards may be two and a half weeks away, but we’re starting our coverage early. In addition to the whiskey-soaked Oscar live-blog you know and love, BYT is reviewing the short film nominees. Starting this Friday, all the shorts will be screening at Landmark’s E Street Cinema.
Pentecost, directed by Peter McDonald
If there's two things the Irish love, it's football and religious guilt (if there's three, raging alcoholism). Damian (Scott Graham) has committed a cardinal sin of the altar boy code when he injures a priest with an errant swing of his incense thurible. This does not sit well with Damian's father (Michael McElhatton), who rips down the Liverpool FC posters blanketing Damian's bedroom. What's worse, his father threatens that if Damian messes up again, he'll miss the European Cup Final broadcast that his beloved Liverpool are competing in. Ireland's religious films seldom lack a dark side, but here it's treated mostly with a smirk. For Damian though, football is religion. When he confuses the two, you're likely to draw out a big laugh.
Raju is a sobering look into the poverty and corruption of Indian's urban slums through the eyes of two westerners. A German couple, Jan and Sarah Fischer, arrive in Calcutta to adopt Raju, a doe eyed, big eared four year old boy. There's an instant chemistry between Raju and his new parents; horsing around and tentative cuddles create an easygoing chemistry. The next afternoon while Jan and Raju are admiring a flurry of kites in the sky, Jan looks down to discover Raju has disappeared. After a disorienting, circuitous path through police, orphanages, and shelters, Jan and Sarah learn that Raju, the boy they payed for, had been kidnapped before he was sold to them. Jan and Sarah disagree in how they should move forward, making things interesting. With the production value of a feature film, Raju is a very assured work. The acting, cinematography, and score are all fantastic. And with such a sticky plot, it's got all the ingredients of a seasoned film.
Time Freak, directed byAndrew Bowler
How often in your theater of memories do regrets project in your head? How much would you give to go back and correct those mistakes? Stillman (Michael Nathanson), a quantum physics genius, has just that opportunity when he creates a time machine. Instead of indulging his fantasy of going to ancient Rome or looping back to run a sports gambling racket, he continually goes back to alleviate confrontations with his dry cleaner or to smooth over an awkward stop-and-chat he had with his crush Debbie (Emilea Wilson). When his friend Evan (John Conor Brooke) discovers his time jumping obsession, he is determined to stop Stillman's madness. Time Freak comes off as a piece of sketch comedy, which is fine, but the story's stakes are featherweight. It's like a condensed, comedic version of Run Lola Run with a decent display of computer effects and editing tricks.
The Shore, directed by Terry George
This Northern Ireland drama centers around Jim (Ciarán Hinds), an expat of Belfast's sectarian troubles, returning from America with his daughter Patricia (Kerry Condon). Jim, a former musician, does a gig in a local pub, and while he performs Patricia uncovers some hidden memories of her father's past, memories that make them both uncomfortable. Paddy (Conleth Hill) and Mary (Maggie Cronin) are introduced as players in a decades-old love triangle that eventually severed Jim from their lives. Upon reuniting, all three have their expectations flipped upside down. The Shore features a powerhouse crew for a short film. Besides starring Hinds, it's directed by Terry George (Hotel Rwanda, The Name of the Father), and shot by cinematographer Seamus McGarvey (Atonement, The Hours). It's a plaintive, pretty film with doses of wry humor to soothe its unearthed emotions. The Shore's subtleties tend to stick with you hours after the fact.
Tuba Atlantic, directed by Hallvar Witzø
Tuba Atlantic is a Norwegian film that at first looks like it's headed for a typically stark Scandanavian meditation on mortality, after Oskar (Edvard Hægstad), a hermetic 70 year old, is diagnosed with cancer. But with a few quick turns of absurd humor, Tuba Atlantic carves out its own path. Inger (Terje Ranes), a blond teenage girl from a "Jesus Club," has come to help Oskar die so she can be upgraded from "Angel of Death" to "Angel." Oskar is more interested in slaughtering seagulls than coming to terms with his death, but Inger is able to pry open his emotional core to discover his unresolved issues. This was a fantastic short film. The imagery of Norwegian shorelines and Oskar's bizarre foghorn are memorable. The interior shots are sumptuous with their mastery of light. But to top it off, it has a story worth caring about, and its highlights are completely unexpected bouts of humor from Oskar and Inger.
This was a strong slate of movie shorts, with the exception of Time Freak, which felt a little sophomoric (watch it win anyway). Anticipating a winner here is tough. Last year's winner, Luke Matheny's twee romance God of Love, bucked a lot of dark dramas. With that in mind, Tuba Atlantic is my pick to win because of it's adept technical craft, but also its novel storytelling and absurd laughs in the face of a potentially mopey story.
Previously in Movies:
- 5/22: WEEKLY BYT GUIDE TO: DVD RELEASES/ ON DEMAND/ INSTANT NETFLIXING
- 5/18: Movie Ticket Giveaway: MEN IN BLACK III
- 5/18: Peter Berg does not sink his "Battleship."
- 5/18: Movie Review: "What To Expect When You're Expecting."
- 5/18: Movie Review: "This Is Not a Film."
- 5/18: Movie Review: "Bernie."
- 5/18: Interview: Richard Linklater
- 5/16: Movie Ticket Giveaway: For Greater Glory
- 5/11: Movie Review: "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia."
- 5/11: Movie Review: "Hit So Hard."
God loves a cheerful giver.
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