February 24th:
As a tune-up for the Big Reveal of my OSCAR Predictions at the weekend, here are my impressions (and predictions) for two of the "shorts" categories: Best Documentary Short and Best Live Action Short. (I call it a short recap, because for the third year in a row I am boycotting the Best Animated Short category, as the company that releases the "Oscar Shorts" programs insist on charging separate admission for what is, at most, 40 minutes of nominated films. They always pad it with another 35 minutes of non-nominated animation to (barely) get to 75 minutes. Rip off!
In Part 1, I cover
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
I skipped this category last year, because the subject matter of the films was too depressing: Suicide-pollution-terminal illness-old age-and death! This year's features are more upbeat: Ebola-honor killings-capital punishment-birth defects-and (wait for it) The Holocaust! Welcome to the world of documentary shorts.
This category has come a long way in a short time--and that is not necessarily a good thing! I blame HBO and other television "providers" that have flooded this category with well-produced, high-quality films. Why is that a problem? Because in six months, you know they are going to be shown on TV, then nominated for Emmys! That does not seem fair: pick a format, HBO, and stick to it!
The first nominee, "Body Team 12" would have been in contention in years past: it is a brief slice of life following a Ebola body disposal unit in Liberia. While an important, under-reported subject, it just does not have the production values (or length) of the other nominees. And this is one of the 3 HBO Documentary Films!
The other two HBO Films are: "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness" and "Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah." HBO loves to use that colon (:). The first, dealing with a botched 'honor killing' in Pakistan, is thought-provoking, beautifully-filmed, and powerful: all features it has in common with the last film I championed that won this category in 2013: "Saving Face" -- about acid attacks against women ... IN PAKISTAN! (WTF Pakistan?) I am compelled to add that this was an HBO Film, too -- HBO knows where the Golden Goose is! Although it is a little too slick for my tastes, I predict this film WILL WIN the Oscar.
The Lanzmann movie is better, in my opinion. It is gripping and introspective throughout (I admit I am drawn to the subject matter, having seen the director's 9.5-hour magnum opus "Shoah" in one, all-day screening). In any other year, I would WANT this to win, but the final nominee blew me away. No, it is not the most-slickly produced, technically superior film among the five, but it has all the heart, determination, and spirit of its subject: I am talking about "Chau, Beyond the Lines." It is the story of a Vietnamese youth born with horrible birth defects, caused by his mother's exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam during the war. I still have not recovered from watching Chau overcome indescribable odds to pursue a career as an artist, while confronting my own complicity (as a U.S. citizen) in contributing to his condition, and that of many other youth who are surviving despite the world's indifference.
The less I say about the last nominee, "Last Day of Freedom," the better. Not for its subject matter: an interview with the brother of a black Vietnam Vet suffering PTSD long before society took notice of such a condition, who has an episode that results in the murder of an elderly woman in Sacramento, CA. The reminiscences of the brother who turned him in and later watched his execution are inherently powerful. So why did the filmmakers rely on the distracting, and distancing device of animating the entire movie? It was a chore to sit through (but it may be a dark horse choice for the #OscarsSoWhite Academy). No pun intended!
Next: Part II:
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
