Jon The Blogcentric

With the Oscar nominations come the annual showing of the nominated short films. Once again, I had the luck of seeing the short films nominated for this year’s Academy Awards. Only one is an American-made film. The rest are from multiple countries. Here’s my review of the films nominated for Best Live-Action Short Film for 2024:

A Lien (dirs. Davit Cutler-Kreutz and Sam Cutler-Kreutz) – The story begins with a family, Oscar, Sophia and their daughter Nina, arriving early for an overseas trip. The trip is for all of them to get their passports. Since there are separate interviews per adult, Nina is with Oscar. Sophia has no problem getting her passport but problems are with Oscar. Turns out his appointment is a set-up with an ICE agent. They know Oscar is illegal and is getting ready to deport Oscar and possibly Nina. Things become of huge concern to Sophia as she doesn’t know why Oscar’s passport is taking so long until she finds out what’s happening.

The story is definitely on the topic of illegal immigrants and ICE cracking down. It’s a big topic as the Trump administration returns to the White House and promises the biggest deportations in US history. The focus here is on the tactic of set-up appointments where they are able to trick the alleged illegal into their trap. Even with the topic, this story presents itself in a heat-of-the-moment crisis situation where the audience fears for the worst as Sophie fears for the worst. Also seeing how Nina could be deported along with Oscar, it will make one think about what’s happening. It makes one think more harm will come from this than good. That’s why I pick this film as my Should Win pick and my WILL WIN pick.

Anuja (dir. Adam J. Graves) – Anuja is a nine year-old girl in Delhi who is a victim of child labor. She and her older sister Palak are both orphaned and they work as sewers at a garment factory to pay their rent. One day, their boss Mr. Verma calls Anuja to the office as a local schoolteacher, Mr. Mishra, has been impressed with Anuja. Mr. Mishra offers her to take an entrance exam to attend a boarding school with paid scholarship, but Mr. Verma wants to keep her for his labor. Palak lets Anuja in on a secret. Palak has made bags out of scraps to see so she can get married but she’s willing to sell them for Anuja for the *400 fee for the exam. Palak wants Anuja to seize this way out. There comes a problem. The morning of the exam will happen soon and Mr. Verma is so impressed with Anuja’s math skills, he wants her there every morning or else she or Palak will be fired. In the end, Anuja makes a crucial decision the day of the exam.

This story is a good story about child labor. The topic of child labor is an uncomfortable one since they’re too young, overworked, underpaid and they miss out on benefits like a good education. This story is one that shows of the hope of a way out, but not without the menacing boss threatening her. Even you yourself will be concerned of what Anuja’s next move will be. The story ends in an ambiguous way as it lets the audience decide for themselves what Anuja’s choice is. It takes you to the heat of that moment in both the classroom, the sweatshop’s office and where Anuja is. A smart way of ending the film.

I’m Not A Robot (dis. Victoria Warmerdam) – The film begins at a music office. One of the workers, a producer named Lara, receives an alert to restart her laptop. The update gives her CAPTCHA code after CAPTCHA code to verify her authenticity. Frustrated how the CAPTCHAs are never ending, she calls tech support, but they give her the news it’s confirmed she’s a robot. A different test consisting of many personal questions confirms she’s 87% likely to be a robot. She consults her boyfriend Daniel about this. The talk between her and Daniel is interfering with an important meeting at her record label since even he can’t confirm she’s not a robot. Even a new worker at work named Pam, but she makes things worse by telling her she’s a robot created by Daniel five years ago to be his girlfriend. It gets to the point there’s only one last thing to do. Even as she meets up with Daniel on the top level of a parkade, she’s told she’s unable to end her life. Will a suicide jump from that parkade confirm if she’s human or a bot?

Of all the nominated films in this category, this is the only comedy. This takes us into a scenario of “What if?” What if there really was a living breathing bot of a human being and they didn’t know it? What if they learned they were a bot even from their loved one? It plays around with that idea. It takes us into the moment and it gets us laughing as each situation gets weirder and weirder. It’s a good laugh break and a good film in itself too.

The Last Ranger (dir. Cindy Lee) – Khuselwa is a ranger at a game reserve in South Africa. She works alongside her fellow ranger Robert to preserve the wildlife and protect from poachers. It is during the COVID pandemic and Robert tells her they’re running out of funds and may have to cease operations, but Khuselwa refuses to stop as her job is her passion.

One day, she sees her young friend Litha walking as she is to sell her father’s carvings. She offers her a ride in the humvee and shows her the animals, including the two rhinos she adores. Both of them notice poachers attempting to go after their horns for sale on the black market. Khuselwa goes to arrest while Litha videotapes. After one of the poachers saws of the horn of a rhino, It becomes a shootout between Khuselwa and the poachers that leave her mortally wounded. After the battle, Litha learns that one of the poachers is her father. Litha is infuriated but her father begs forgiveness. As years pass, Litha is now a ranger with Robert.

This is a story worth telling as it’s of an illegal operation that is still happening now. Poaching of endangered wild animals in Africa as riches for their bodies, hides and body parts are offered. This tells of the story of a common poaching incident but it also tells of bonds between friends, father and daughter and a bond of ranger to animals. There are some rangers who are willing to give their lives for the well-being of animals. Khuselwa was one of those and she’s passed on her values and passion to Litha as she died that day. This makes for an informative story about animal protection as it’s also a good coming of age story of the girl.

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (dir. Nebojsa Slijepcevic) – The film begins on a train trip from Belgrade, Serbia to Bar, Montenegro in 1993 in what is still Yugoslavia and during some of the most intense days of the Balkan Wars. A man named Dragan is with four other people of various ages in the same train car. The train trip is stopped suddenly as the White Eagles army have come to inspect the train and will drag out any ‘suspicious’ passengers. One person in the car, the teenager Milan, tells Dragan he has no documentation. Dragan assures him no one in the car will hurt him. As a commander enters the car, Dragan unsuccessfully tries to rebuff him and has to watch as all passengers are inspected. With no papers, Milan is ordered out of the car until Tomo, a Croat army veteran, stops the commander and questions his authority. In turn, it’s Tomo taken off the train to be questioned while Milan is able to return to his seat. Dragan watches as Tomo is led off.

This is a story that reminds us of the Balkan war, a war that deserves not to be forgotten. The story is an example of the brutality and of the ethnic cleaning attempts that happened in the various areas. It’s also a story of goodwill as a Croat army veteran is willing to allow himself to be sacrificed so that the teenager without documents is allowed to live. All through the witnessing of one man who was just simply a passenger. It’s a story that tells a lot. This film won the short film Palme d’Or at Cannes and is the film I feel will be the Most Likely Upsetter.

And there you go. That’s my look at the films nominated in the category of Best Live-Action Short Film. I will be having one blog per category for the short films reviews so animation will be next.