New Yorker

2022 Oscars Shorts Reviews: Documentaries

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Once again, the nominated documentary shorts had a long combined running time. A time too long to be in a single film reel. I saw one set of shorts one day and another set the other day. All five documentary shorts are unique in their own subjects and in the themes they were trying to convey. Here are my reviews of this year’s films nominated in the category Best Documentary Short Subject:

The Elephant Whisperers (dirs. Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga) – It’s Mudumulai National Park in the Tamil Nadu area of south India. The park consists of mostly tribal people and many wildlife. In recent decades many species have become endangered. One couple of the Kattunayakan tribe named Bomman and Bellie are known to care for baby elephants. One of the elephants they care for is a baby elephant they named Raghu. Raghu was found badly injured and his mother was killed by electrocution. The couple nursed it, took care of it and raised Raghu as a pet until he can be of juvenile age. Soon they come across another baby elephant that was left behind as the elephants did their seasonal migrating. The elephant, who’s a female, is also tended to by Bomman and Bellie and Raghu treats her like a little sister. Over time, the government takes Raghu before the couple is ready to let him free. They still take care of the female.

This Netflix documentary is a story of an environmental theme. It’s as much about the tribal people taking care of the elephants as it is about the actual elephant itself. Both the species and the tribal people are both threatened with modernization and of climate change. The threats are made obvious, but the story does not get too heavy. In fact the story takes on an enjoyable feel to it. We see as the couple form a bond with the elephants and love them as if they were their own human child. They show as they put colors on the elephants as part of a religious ritual. The film is as much colorful and enjoyable in spectacle as it is good on its environmental topic. In addition, this film consists of five years of footage with the elephants and the couple. That’s why I place it as my Will Win pick.

Haulout (dirs. Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev) – A man is sent to the Chukotka region of Russia; the area of Asian Russia that’s a close distance to Alaska. He’s a marine biologist in a remote uninhabited area who’s given instructions through radio and enough food to last the season. One day, he notices a huge flood of walruses have come to the coast. They threaten to intrude the place he’s residing in. For hours throughout the day, he has to find refuge on top of the roof. Nevertheless he has to study the populations and the temperatures. Over a hundred-thousand have migrated to the area. Then as the season pass, they swim back in the Chuchki Sea. He then studies the dead walruses left behind. We then learn at the end the biologist, Maxim Chakilev, is studying not only a species but also the effects of climate change as the huge migration is a result of the changes, as well as the record numbers of deaths from the high temperatures.

This story is good as it comes without narration. It’s a series of events that happen and the story tells itself over the elapsed time. The directors, who are brother and sister, don’t just simply have a message to deliver. They have a message to show and let the story deliver that message. It’s as impressive as it is informative.

How Do You Measure A Year? (dir. Jay Rosenblatt) – From age one to age eighteen, film maker Jay Rosenblatt films his daughter Ella on each of her birthdays, or around them. With each film, he asks Ella the same questions, about her dreams, what she thinks power is, what she wants to be when she grows up, and her feelings toward her father. One of her goals is to be a singer and often she sings one of her favorite songs in the films. As she grows up, her answers go from playful to more serious. The questions about their relationship also have noticeable differences as there are times when it’s real serious. The final one at eighteen is tearful for Ella as she knows it will be the last one.

There are a lot of these films on social media where parents film their child as they grow. This film is not as complicated as the other films. This is one film a day for eighteen years. Nevertheless it tells a lot. You can see Ella grow and her mannerisms change. She goes from playful as a toddler to enjoying it as a child to being annoyed or disgusted with it as a teen to sad to see it all end at eighteen. These annual films also tell of a lot of her concerns and her deep hidden emotions. That’s what makes it unique from most chronological child films. It’s the depth of Ella’s answers and the relationship with her father that makes this set of films unique in its own way.

The Martha Mitchell Effect (dirs. Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison) – This documentary tells the story of Martha Mitchell, wife of John Mitchell. When Richard Nixon was elected president of the United States in 1968, he chose John to be his Attorney General. At the time, the White House was practically a male-dominated government. wives were supposed to be out of their husband’s business, just appearing aside them in public. Martha Mitchell was different. She was known to be unafraid to speak her mind. She’d even call in to radio shows and spill the beans of what’s happening. Things really became uncomfortable for the Nixon administration as she was not afraid to be critical of the system. We all know how much of a control freak Richard Nixon was. And for the wife of the Attorney General to blab all that, you could see how they could see her as a threat. She even became a celebrity with the public. Then around the time of the Watergate break-in, coincidentally or not, Martha was kidnapped at a hotel for three days. She was even injected by a member of the government. In the end, Watergate became Nixon’s downfall. John Mitchell was sentenced to prison and would eventually divorce Martha. Many people assume Martha paved the way for Nixon’s downfall.

This Netflix documentary is an important film to have right now. It focuses on a lot of things in politics that we see happening right now. First, it’s of political corruption. People are still encouraged to stay quiet and play the game. Those that spill the truth out are still punished. Second, it’s of a male-controlled environment. The whole political system in the US was male controlled and Martha’s husband was part of the people pulling the strings. So hearing of how a woman not afraid to tell it as she saw it would naturally make them comfortable. Third, it’s of control. Even though the US is to be seen as the “land of the free,” they have some hidden truths. There was a president who was a control freak and wanted everything done his way and feared opposition. In sure there were many times Nixon saw Martha as his top threat. That case where Martha was kidnapped and injected around the time of the Watergate break-in will leave you guessing. Was it an act of control from Nixon? This documentary will leave you with some unanswered questions. This documentary is very much a reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Knowing how our system lies to us should make us glad for loudmouths like Martha.

Stranger At The Gate (dirs. Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones) – The film begins with family talking of former Marine Richard (Mac) McKinney. His daughter mentions of him being a mass murderer. The film then leads to an Afghani couple living in Muncie, Indiana. They talk of how they immigrated. The film then leads to Mac. He tells of when he was growing up and what led him to be a Marine. Footage of the WTC attack on September 11, 2001 changed everything. Mac was then to do service in Afghanistan and Iraq. His service ended in the mid-2000’s, but the war was not over in his head. He returned to Muncie to see Muslims. That, combined with the PTSD from the war, led him to see them as the enemy. He puts together a pipe bomb which he plans to detonate at the mosque in Muncie, without his wife and daughter knowing. One day, he goes to the mosque to see any particular areas where to put the bomb. Instead he sees a welcoming community. Members of the community talk of what it was like to meet Mac. Over time, Mac kept coming back. His desire to kill disappeared over time and he had a new desire to be part of this community. Then it’s exposed. His bomb is discovered. Everyone is in shock and Mac is interrogated to see if he’s a domestic terrorist. He served time, but eventually was welcomed back into Muncie’s Muslim community.

This is a remarkable story that forms itself well. As the story starts, the audience would first guess that Mac was responsible for a huge hate crime. As time passes, you would still think he committed that terrible act. Then as we progress on, you learn that Mac didn’t commit an act of domestic terrorism. He almost did, but it turned out to be a case that love won over. Those interviewed show the story from various angles from family to the Muslim community to the Afghan refugees to the police. They all have a lot to say and it leads to the overall message from the film. The message being hate is very often a state of mind. We see that as Mac was a soldier and was taught to hunt down the enemy during the war. His PTSD from fighting in the war mixed with his war-time mentality towards Muslims were the ingredients for his Islamophobia right there. The film also shows that hate can be defeated by love. It’s a message we need to hear right now, especially since we hear news about so many shootings and so many hate attacks. This is a remarkable story of how one such attack was prevented from happening when the almost-perpetrator allowed himself to heal. That’s why I decide this documentary to be my Should Win pick.

And there you go! That’s my focus on the nominees for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject. Very rarely do I want to see documentaries. These five films made it worth watching.

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2022 Oscar Shorts Review: Animation and Live-Action

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Did you think with this being an Oscar year I would miss my chance to see the films nominated in the short films categories? The chance was there and I took it again. All the films had a unique style about them and all appeared worthy of their nominations. So here I go. Here are my reviews for the nominated films in the Animation and Live-Action categories.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse (dirs. Charles Mackesy and Matthew Freund) –

A boy is lost in the winter snows. A mole finds him. He hopes the mole will lead him home, a home he’s never had before, and wants to grow up to be kind. The two hope the river they find will lead them there, but they’re encountered by a fox. The fox wants to hunt them both down, but finds himself in a trap. The mole frees him and the fox runs away. The next day the mole falls into the river, but is saved by the fox. The fox joins the mole and the boy on the journey to the boy’s home. Along the journey, they encounter a white horse who is an outcast. The three welcome the horse along the journey. Soon they discover the horse has a special trait. He can fly like Pegasus! Soon they come to the village where the boy’s home is. The three animals say their good-byes, but the boy makes a surprising decision.

It seems like every year, there has to be at least one animated short from the UK that’s nominated. This is this year’s nomination. This is an adaptation o f a 2019 children’s book from Charlie Mackesy, who co-directs this short film. This is a 2D short that has been on Apple TV starting this Christmas. It has a quiet soft tone that’s more touching than sentimental. It makes the right moves and is able to be soft without getting too mushy or manipulative. This is one charmer that I give both my Should Win and Will Win pick.

The Flying Sailor (dirs. Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis) – It’s the morning of December 6, 1917 along the coast in Halifax. Two ships collide within each other with one catching on fire. A sailor thinks nothing of it and lights a cigarette. Only the burning ship soon explodes. The sailor goes flying naked in an out-of-body experience. His life flashes before his eyes from childhood to his life at sea as Halifax is engulfed by the blast. The blast sends him out of earth and even out of the galaxy. Then all of a sudden, he’s brought back down into the galaxy, then earth, then back into Halifax into a body of water. Miraculously he’s still alive. He even stares a shocked fish in the eyes.

As I was watching this, I asked myself “Is this about the Halifax Explosion?” Yes, it was. In fact the film makers dedicate the film to a sailor who flew 2 kilometers in the explosion and lived to tell! This film from the National Film Board of Canada is one of of two animated features from The New Yorker Screening Room to be nominated. It’s a clever story that doesn’t need any dialogue for us to get the message. It lets the images and the moments tell the story of a man who’s near a sudden death contemplate his existence. A fast film, but entertaining and even humorous from start to finish.

Ice Merchants (dirs. Joao Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano) – A widowed father and son run an ice selling business. The ice comes from a box they fill with water, let freeze overnight, and break up to sell the next day. They get their freezing temperature by being up on the very mountain they have their house upon. The house is thousands of feet above the ground hanging from ropes and requires a system of pulleys and ropes to get to. They have to skydive down together into the town to sell their wares. The flight always causes their hats to fall off. They use the money from sales to buy new hats. Then one day, the son notices the water in the box didn’t freeze. The temperature is above freezing. The high temperature of the snow is causing an avalanche and the house’s ropes are breaking. The parachute falls from the house. The father makes the decision to jump with his son. Fortunately a female skydiver finds the two in the air, grabs hold of them, and opens her parachute. The two survive, but in a surprising way!

This film from a Portuguese animation company is another film from The New Yorker Screening Room. It’s a good 2D film that is as much about its art as it is about telling its story. It uses only a few colors at a time for each of its scenes. It has the visuals and the music tell the story without having any dialogue. It also does a very good job in showing the drama of the climax. It also ends on a happy and humorous note that works well with the story.

My Year Of Dicks (dirs. Sara Gunnarsdottir and Pamela Ribon) – It’s 1991 in Houston and Pam seeks to lose her virginity as she is approaching womanhood. She, however, is undecided which boy she wants to lose her virginity with. She constantly trusts the opinions of her best friend Sam, who is male. The first boy she tries to lose it with is David, a skateboarder who thinks he’s a vampire. She’s attracted to his mystique, but soon learns what a jerk he is and of the little game he had with his guy friends. The second boy is Wally, who’s a theatre usher. They try to do it in a broom closet during work hours, but it doesn’t work out. Third boy is Robert, whom she finds as nice. She soon learns he’s gay and was interested in Sam. Pam tries a party hosted by her friend Karina. She meets a boy named Joey who appears to be orderly. The party comes to a sudden halt and Pam learns Joey is a Nazi! The story ends with a surprise that Pam learns what she was searching for was there all along.

It’s a story with both intrigue and humor. The rotoscope animation adds to the story and adds to the comedic elements of the story. Pam brings an intriguing story and Sara Gunnarsdottir does a great job of animating and directing it.

An Ostrich Told Me The World Is Fake And I Think I Believe It (dir. Lachlan Pendragon) – Neil is a telemarketer trying to sell toasters. His boss confronts him of his poor performance and threatens to fire him. As he continues working, he hallucinates and notices things missing from his cubicle. He wakes up and he sees an ostrich. The ostrich can speak and tells him this world is a ‘sham’ and advises him to get a better look at his surroundings. Neil soon finds his way out of the animation world and into a prop box full of his own mouths. The following day, Neil is shocked to see all the furniture removed. A co-worker named Gaven tells him it’s a corporate decision, but Neil rips his mouth off. The creator tries to intervene, but Neil falls off the set. With Neil’s body all broken up, the creator puts him back together and on the set. The next day, Neil is confronted by his boos, and quits.

This Australian short is an amusing stop-motion animated film. It goes from the animated story to the world of the production studio. It’s funny how the film knows it’s stop-motion and knows how to joke around about that fact. That adds to the humor of the story. It’s a funny film that goes from the animated story to the real world and back to the animated story. It seems odd at first, but it’s very likeable.

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM

An Irish Goodbye (dirs. Tom Berkely and Ross White) – Two brothers from Belfast, Turlough and Lorcan, have lost their mother. The priest gives the sons the ashes and attempts to give them their mother’s ‘bucket list,’ but Turlough thinks its useless. Turlough, who works in London, wants to sell the farm and have Lorcan, who has Down’s Syndrome, live with his aunt. Lorcan wants nothing to do with it. Lorcan says he has the bucket list and still believes they can fulfill his mother’s wishes with her urn. The two agree to try all 100. However it’s the 99th, skydiving, that her urn smashes. Turlough soon finds out the truth about Lorcan’s bucket list the priest. That leads to even bigger friction, but a resolution does occur after they proceed with the 100th item.

This Irish short film is a well-acted film that’s mixes both tragedy and comedy with the intensity of family drama. It also deals with the issue of Down’s Syndrome in a humorous manner that doesn’t tread on being insulting or having mockery. It’s a story you anticipate to be sad, but instead turns out to be humorous, enjoyable, and even heart-warming. It’s worth seeing.

Ivalu (dirs. Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan) – It’s morning in Greenland. The Queen of Denmark is to visit. Pipaluk is looking for her older sister Ivalu. Her father, who acts like he doesn’t care, says she ran away. Pipaluk tries looking for Ivalu. She sees a raven and thinks Ivalu’s spirit is in the bird. As she continues the search, she remembers the conversations she had with Ivalu. It’s then she faces the facts of a lot of ugly secrets about Ivalu and how her father treated her. Pipaluk feels she has to confront the awful truth. In the end Pipaluk wears Ivalu’s dress for the Queen’s visit.

This is a story that touches on a taboo rarely discussed but is well-known among indigenous peoples. Child sexual abuse is also very common in the Inuit populations of Canada. Although this is touchy subject matter, it does a good job in adapting a short story into a watchable film. The film has visuals that are both mystic and disturbing. It’s a sad story that does come as life-affirming at the end. Its imagery is the film’s best quality.

Le Pupille (dirs. Alive Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuaron) – The story revolves around a Roman Catholic boarding school in Italy during World War II. The central character of the story is a girl names Serafina. She’s an outcast at the school and the nuns are strict to all the girls, including Serafina. Mother Superior Fioralba is the strictest of them all. Christmas is fast approaching and the girls are to put on a Nativity play. The people in the town see the girls as darlings, but Fioralba always finds something to scold them about like singing a romantic song on the radio, which Fioralba describes as ‘filthy.’ She’s angry Serafina won’t admit to singing the lyrics and tells her what a bad girl she is. On Christmas, a rich socialite, who’s frustrated by her cheating boyfriend, gives the nuns a big red cake for the girls. Fiorabla thinks the cake is a bad thing as soldiers are starving. At the Christmas dinner, the girls are about to have dessert of the cake, but Fioralba tries to convince them not to have it. Serafina, shamed by her scolding, is able to get a slice. Fioralba hoped to use the cake for the Bishop’s visit. In the end a chimney sweep is given the cake which, thanks to him falling, is enough for everyone from the schoolgirls to his chimney sweep friends to the alley-way pets to have some of the cake.

It’s a charming story. I didn’t think Cuaron would be the type to do a short film for Disney. And in Italian. At first, you think with subject matter like this, it would be a dark story. Instead it turns out to be humorous and also turns out to be a good lesson in charity the girls and the chimney sweeps end up teaching a stern but dishonest nun like Fioralba. It’s also a story that shows how freeing yourself can even triumph over in a strict religious boarding school. And during World War II in Italy to boot! That’s why I give this film my Will Win pick.

Night Ride (dirs. Elrik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen) – In a town in Norway, a woman with dwarfism named Ebba is waiting for a tram on a cold night. A tram arrives, but the driver is taking a half-hour’s break. Impatiently, Ebba sneaks her way on the tram as he’s in the washroom. She plays along with the buttons in conductor’s controls and is able to get the tram moving. The conductor leaves the washroom shocked to find the tram moving, but Ebba moves on wit the runaway tram. Two rude males board the train along with a woman named Ariel. One of the males hits on Ariel, only to learn she’s trans. The two males get confrontational with Ariel, even threatening, but Ebba stops the tram to face up the men to stop. Even as the men are rude to her about her height, she doesn’t back down. She then tells the men to lead the tram and Ebba and Ariel get off. It’s just Ebba and Ariel on the bus bench as they watch a police car chase the runaway tram. They both laugh together.

It’s very rare that a film can take the topic of transphobia and make a comical situation. Here we have a case of a woman with dwarfism who steals the train and the trans woman whom the woman prevents from being attacked. It’s almost as if the runaway tram was a miracle for Ariel as it prevented physical abuse from happening. Not to mention the eventual comeuppance of the transphobes as both Ebba and Ariel see the police car chasing the tram on a bench. Both are cold, but they’re both safe, unlike the transphobes. And an unlikely friendship to boot!

The Red Suitcase (dir. Cyrus Neshvad) – Ariane, a young woman from Iran, has just arrived at the Luxembourg airport. She looks fearful. She has her red suitcase but refuses to leave past security. This causes suspicion among the guards and they check her suitcase. All that’s inside is clothes, pencil drawings. and art supplies. Nothing threatening. The true threat is past security. A middle-aged man her father arranged for her to marry. Her father even instructs her to approach the man through text message. Ariane has to escape and try to avoid catching his eye. She tries to get her money exchanged for Euros. It doesn’t exchange to much. She then tries to go out to look for an escape. She sees an airport bus and boards it, using her exchanged money to get on. Meanwhile the man is impatient as he has a big wedding planned that day. He received a message from Ariane’s father that her flight has arrived. He notices her money envelope so he knows she is outside. He searches in the bus area. He boards the very bus Ariane is on. Ariane finds an escape. He sees her suitcase but can’t find her. Ariane hides herself in the baggage area of the bus and won’t leave until it’s safe. Even a text from her father promising if she returns home, she can have anything won’t calm her. Then the bus drives off with the man on board and Ariane still at the airport.

The theme over here has to be the subject of arranged marriages. This is especially an important film as the Iranian feminist movement has been fighting for their freedoms since October. Those scenes where Ariane takes off her hijab and one where she cuts her hair are definitely part of the message. Even though the film is important because of its subject matter, the way the film plays out as we see one side of the subject matter and we learn more as it goes along is a creative element. Even the scenes of near-misses add to the intensity. We all wants Ariane to avoid being with the husband she doesn’t want, but we fear for her safety. We get the relief at the very end. Ariane is alone at the airport with all her money spent and without her suitcase, but she is free. It’s because of this that I designate this film as my Should Win pick.

And there you have it. That sums it up for the Animated and Live-Action short films nominated for this year’s Oscars. Those that aren’t normally film buffs, watching these shorts are more worth it than you think!