Few
people ever see the short films nominated for Oscars since they are rarely shown in theaters, so I’m happy to
enlighten my readers to the unsung glories of that particular art form. Unlike
the full-length movies we all see constantly, which run anywhere from 90
minutes to over two hours depending on the director’s ego, the short film is
just that: short. The imposed time limit challenges the director to tell his or
her story succinctly and with no padding, which makes these films far superior
to those Hollywood “blockbusters” that drone on endlessly, causing us to eat
too much popcorn and possibly an entire bag of Twizzlers. (So I've heard.)
This
year’s entries, as usual an international crop, were all extremely memorable
despite their brevity. Each one has taken root and stayed with me for weeks. Directed
by relative unknowns and starring nobodies, I won’t bother
mentioning names beyond the titles. If you want to learn more before the winner is announced this coming Sunday, Google your
heart out!
DeKalb
Elementary (20 mins, USA)
In
light of all the school shootings we have experienced in recent years, and even
in recent weeks, this film really touches a nerve. It’s a sad reality that as
the film opened, showing a quiet start to the school day inside a typical
school office, I immediately suspected the story would unfold as it did: A
young man enters the scene, puts down his backpack and takes out a gun. It’s
become just that common a happenstance for most of us to recognize the signs.
Although
a few minor characters come onscreen occasionally, the film centers on the growing
relationship between the school secretary, a young African American woman endowed
with amazing grace and calmness, and the shooter, a nervous, baby-faced white
man exuding edgy anxiety, as she tries to talk him out of doing any harm.
It’s
surprising how much can happen in twenty minutes, as this film proves. The
woman takes a phone call, trying to reassure a loved one that she is safe. Then
the shooter talks to someone on his cell phone who obviously cares about him,
showing us he’s not simply a deranged killer but a lost soul worthy of our
sympathy. All the while the tension grows as we’re waiting for him to explode.
Instead, trusting the woman, he starts talking and eventually asks her to call
the police. He says he wants to live, but will they let him or will they come
in with guns blazing? The taut ending has you on the proverbial edge of
your seat, if only for a few minutes.
My
Nephew Emmett (20 mins, USA)
This
haunting depiction of the fate of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old African American
boy lynched by the Mississippi KKK back in 1955, will make you feel either incredibly
sad or incredibly angry; I experienced both
emotions. For those who don’t know history, it will feel like heartbreaking fiction.
Shot
in black and white, and with a grainy, almost home movie quality, the plot unfolds
slowly, the film’s title serving as the only hint to future events. A young
city boy comes to rural Mississippi to visit his relatives. Innocent to country
ways, he makes a fatal error and whistles at a young white woman while he’s in
town with his cousin. Soon enough, his seemingly minor transgression gets him
in deep trouble when the woman’s husband comes seeking revenge.
The
boy’s uncle, old and wise to how things work in these parts, understands
immediately what’s about to happen but is powerless to stop it. The audience
isn’t so sure, but after Emmett is forcibly removed by a couple of burly white
men and driven away in the back of a pickup truck, we figure it out. Authentic
news footage from that time shows Emmitt Till’s real uncle speaking into the
camera and laying it all out for anyone who may be confused. It’s a deeply depressing
but must-see film for complete understanding of the racial divide America faces
to this day.
The
Eleven O’ Clock (13 min, Australia)
Finally,
a little comic relief! This sweet
film tells a comical tale of mistaken identity when a wildly delusional patient
arrives for his morning appointment with his psychiatrist, only he believes he
is a psychiatrist himself. The opening scene is set up in such a way that the
audience doesn’t know for sure who’s the real doctor and who’s got a few screws
loose. Of course, if you pay close attention there are some clues sprinkled
throughout, but it’s more fun to just go along with the confusion.
The
clever script consists of witty dialog between the two men, each one insisting he is the real doctor and the other one
is the patient. Watching the two of them, first you think the doctor is this guy, then you’re pretty sure he’s that guy. The stand-off ends when one of
them leaves in disgust and the other takes his rightful place behind the
doctor’s desk. Or does he? When the next patient arrives, it’s anyone’s guess
if she’s spilling her guts to a shrink or to someone even crazier than her.
The
Silent Child (20 mins, UK)
While
this is a beautiful film, with lovely scenery and equally lovely
settings, the underlying story is a tear-jerker. The plot revolves
around a 4-year-old deaf girl and her clueless, middle-class parents who do little to include her in their bustling family life. Libby appears to be cut
off from everyone and everything until a caring social worker is hired to be
her nanny and help her navigate the hearing world.
The
nanny begins by teaching Libby sign language, yet the parents reject this solution
and insist she focus on lip reading as a way for their daughter to get by at
school. This is just bald selfishness on their part as they refuse to take the
time to learn sign language themselves. Both Mom and Dad are busy professionals, doing little more than planting a kiss on Libby’s head as they rush off
to their respective jobs each morning. We see Libby standing alone in the
schoolyard, with nowhere to turn. It’s a sad situation, powerfully portrayed by
a first-time child actress who is also actually deaf.
The
nanny persists with teaching sign language, and quickly she and Libby develop a
strong bond. Watching Libby open up to life’s possibilities as she sees other
children signing and understands it can make her more “normal” almost
compensates for the pain of seeing how cruel even so-called loving parents can
be.
Watu
Wote (All of Us) (20 mins, Germany)
The
most challenging of all the selections, Watu
Wote follows the journey of a young Christian woman living in Kenya as she travels
over dangerous territory on a chartered bus ride that will take 31 hours. The story is based on the actual Mandera bus
attack in 2015 by the militant group Al-Shabaab, with a mix of Christians and
Muslims on board.
After just a few hours the hired police
escort van has a mechanical failure and cannot go any further, necessitating
the group continue on unprotected. Quickly the bus is stopped and boarded by
violent terrorists armed with machine guns who line up the passengers in the
desert and demand that the Muslims identify the Christians. Nothing doing, the
passengers say with their silence. There’s plenty of white-knuckle tension and
lots of furtive looks exchanged between women wearing head scarves and women
without head scarves. We are to assume that one group is Muslim and the other
is not.
Amid all the chaos a head scarf is surreptitiously
passed to our heroine, and her life is spared. This is not to suggest a lack of
violence as there is a fair amount of blood spilled in the sand. But ultimately
the terrorists are foiled and the audience can leave feeling that all is right
with the world. And even though we know it isn’t, we can think: wouldn’t it be
nice?
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