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By Brian Lafferty
February 1, 2013 (San Diego) -- The annual presentation of the year's Oscar-nominated short films is back at the Ken Cinema (my review of the animated shorts can be found here). What follows is a review of the five diverse and very personal live-action shorts vying for the coveted statuette.
Asad takes place in a coastal village in war-torn Somalia. A young boy (the titular Asad) longs to be a pirate like his older brother, but is stuck with fishing, which he struggles with. While fishing, he stumbles upon a yacht that his brother and his gang raided and makes the catch of his lifetime. Of the five, come Oscar Poll time, this is my pick for winner of the Best Live Action Short Oscar. The bullet-piercing heat of the blazing sun, the grittiness of the slums, and its menacing veneer - a group of militants come to raid the village, almost killing both Asad and his friend - mask warmth and gentleness. It’s a sensitive portrayal of innocence in a conflict-riddled land.
Buzkashi Boys is another film set in the slums of a nation in perpetually dire war-related straits: Kabul, Afghanistan. Two boys of widely different backgrounds - one an orphan beggar, the other the son of a strict blacksmith - become interested in the sport of Buzkashi (think of it as polo but with dead goats). The beggar is not a good influence, but the other child's father's attempts to keep him away only drive him further toward his dream of becoming a Buzkashi star. Tragedy ensues. The streets of Kabul are littered in places with piles of cars and buses. Running water is spotty. The people living in the slums go to bed filthy. It's sentimental, moralistic, and sad. However, it's rewarding.
Curfew opens with a young man lying in the bathtub, his wrist slashed. He gets a call from his estranged sister pleading with him to watch over her daughter. The two bond and the daughter boosts his battered spirits. Curfew is certainly depressing; the streets are dark and seamy, the brother needs some antidepressants, and his sister is in more trouble than she can handle. However plenty of one-liners and a dancing sequence in a bowling alley keep it from drowning in sadness.
Death of a Shadow is my personal favorite of the live-action bunch. The era is World War I. Nathan, a soldier, died but is given a second chance to be with the woman he loves. His task? To capture for a collector 10,000 shadows (one for every day he lived) of those about to die. It gets complicated when he sees she's fallen for someone else. Death of a Shadow is visually striking, with the rich color palette of orange, red, and brown borrowed from Jean-Pierre Jeunet's A Very Long Engagement and combined with the haunting lighting of Brad Anderson's Vanishing on 7th Street. It's easy to feel Nathan's pain and longing as the number 10,000 creeps ever closer.
Anybody who has seen a lot of movies will correctly guess what direction Henry's twisty script goes. After saying goodbye to his wife, he goes to a coffee shop, where he's drugged, kidnapped, and taken to an institution. The script takes the form of a series of dreams and flashbacks to Henry's life with Maria and his daughter. It is easy to spot the twist from the very first scene. The outstanding performances and the surrealism overcome this weakness.
The Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts are now playing at the Landmark Ken Cinema along with the Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts. My reviews of the animated shorts can be found here.
Brian Lafferty welcomes letters at brian@eastcountymagazine.org. You can also follow him on Twitter: @BrianLaff.
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