Of the hundreds of movie and theater reviews I write in a year, these films, the short subjects nominated for Academy Awards may bring me the most pleasure. Shorts take me back to my boyhood, when they always were part of the weekend matinees I attended at the last-run neighborhood houses.
They're short (none of the nominees, either live action or animated, runs more than 30 minutes), they allow a writer or director to make a statement, they're often funny, or silly, they touch on a filmmaker's fantasies–and they're often highly personal expressions.
The program involves 10 films, five in each category, all interesting and entertaining.
My favorite among the live-action nominees was "Wish 143," an English film that touched upon what probably is extremely true, or would have been for me at that age. David, a 15-year-old boy, has a fatal illness and wins a wish from a charity. But David doesn't want a trip to Disneyland. He's 15. He'd like to experience sex. With a beautiful girl. Jim Carter, a sympathetic hospital chaplain, tries to help him, and what starts as rather tawdry, and what might have ended that way under hands less talented that those of director Ian Barnes, turns into something sensitive and rather charming.
"Na Wewe," from Belgium, means "you, too," in Kirundi, an African tongue. We're on a crowded bus in Burundi, stopped at a checkpoint. Soldiers order everyone off, then tell the Hutus to stand on one side of the road, the Tutsis on the other. Terror begets confusion which begets extreme silliness and humor as people try to figure out who's who. This is apparently based on a true incident, which writer-director Ivan Goldschmidt brought to the edge of absurdity.
"The Confession," from England, and "The Crush," from Ireland, deal with younger boys, 9-year-old Sam and 8-year-old Ardal, respectively. Sam's getting ready for his first confession, Ardal is in love with his teacher.
The American entry, "God of Love," was rather boring.
The animated entries were led, in my estimation, by "Madagascar," from France, a fascinating journey through the island nation, investigating its fauna and flora in lovely, loving sketches.
"The Lost Thing," from Australia, is an entertaining, charming tale of a young boy who discovers a strange creature and tries to find its home, meeting great lack of interest from people and animals who are too busy to help.
"The Gruffalo," a German-English production, has high-powered voices, like Robbie Coltrane, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Willkinson and others, deals with a strange creature invented by a mouse looking to survive in the jungle.
Time was when most of these films dealt with political matters. Only one this year, the American "Let's Pollute," which takes a sardonic view of the problem. And "Day & Night," another American candidate, is a whimsical, Pixar-style animation by Teddy Newton, whuo works at Pixar. Satisfying, but simplistic.
This year's films are not as intriguing as last year's, but they offer a different look at the movie-making process.
Academy Award-Nominated Short Subjects opens today at the Tivoli.
—Joe