A closer look at the Oscar finalists for Best Live Action Short

By Abe Friedtanzer

This year, the Best Live Action Short category has fifteen films on its shortlist, up from ten. I was able to screen all of them and interview each film’s director, which helps to give some context and depth to what may end up being a very brief and otherwise fleeting experience. I’m happy to report that, even though the themes are mostly not uplifting, this is a very solid and strong category. Some brief descriptions and thoughts on the films below, where to watch the ones that are available online, and my predictions for which five will be nominated.

ALA KACHUU – TAKE AND RUN  (38 minutes, Kyrgyzstan)
A woman who is planning to continue her studies becomes the victim of bride kidnapping, a real phenomenon where shame is put upon any woman who tries to escape that fate...

This is a depressing but important showcase that demonstrates the speed with which a woman’s future in Kyrgyzstan can completely evaporate. 

CENSOR OF DREAMS  (17 minutes, France)
A crew races against the clock to stage a woman’s dreams to prevent her from enduring recurring trauma that is set to reemerge. Damien Bonnard (of Les Miserables fame), who just received his fourth César nomination in France , stars. This short if definitely wild and out there, but it's also quite thought-provoking.

 

THE CRIMINALS (23 minutes, Turkey)
A young couple tries to spend the night together in a hotel in Turkey, which is illegal since they are not married. What begins as an adventurous romp quickly turns serious and dangerous. This short is entertaining at first and then becomes worrisome, anchored by its protagonists’ recklessness. 

DISTANCES (13 minutes, Spain)
Everyone moves away from a man on a subway car when he starts talking to himself and yelling, but one woman decides to engage him in a bold and direct way. It’s endearing to see the change that happens when just one person acts against the crowd and gives someone who has been ignored or ostracized a chance. 

THE DRESS Watch on YouTube (30 minutes, Poland)
A woman of short stature works as a maid in a motel and dreams of a more exciting life as a potential romance presents itself. Polish actress Anna Dzieduszycka delivers a strong lead performance in a story that gives her character the chance to shine, even if it’s far from optimistic.

 

FRIMAS (19 minutes, Canada)
In the near future when abortion is illegal, a woman attempts to get one in a mobile clinic that operates out of the back of a truck. This drama plays out more like a thriller than anything else, highlighting the immense risk that procedures like this create when they have to be covert and hidden. 

LES GRANDES CLAQUES Watch on YouTube (18 minutes, Canada)
A divorced father goes to pick up his kids on Christmas from his ex and her parents. The English title is Like the Ones I Used to Know. It works on multiple levels as the father and his child both grow through their own important stages of discovery and acceptance.

 

THE LONG GOODBYE Watch on YouTube (12 minutes, UK)
Oscar nominee Riz Ahmed stars in this drama about a British Asian family whose happiness is viciously interrupted by hate. It contains a scene of poetry that is extremely powerful, delivered in memorable fashion by Ahmed.

ON MY MIND  (Denmark, 18 minutes)
A man walks into a bar with only one request: to use the karaoke machine to sing a song for someone who really needs to hear it. This one is funny and sweet, tinged with sadness and longing. Director Martin Strange-Hansen previously won the Oscar in this category for This Charming Man (2002)

PLEASE HOLD (19 minutes, US)
A young Latino man is suddenly arrested in the near future with no knowledge of what his crime is and faced with only automated options to determine his fate. It’s creative satire that’s also deeply disturbing upon reflection. 

STENOFONEN Watch on YouTube (22 minutes, Denmark)
A young boy’s dreams of playing music while at camp are shattered by his father’s disapproval, but he still finds a way to tap into that side of himself. It’s sad to see him shut down but uplifting to watch as he discovers something unexpected along the way.

 

TALA’VISION Watch on YouTube (27 minutes, Jordan)
An eight-year-old girl in Syria lives vicariously through her television set, which has been outlawed by ISIS. It’s affecting to see how much this connection to another world means to its lead character, who is surrounded by  misery. 

UNDER THE HEAVENS Watch on YouTube (17 minutes, Brazil)
A woman immigrating from Venezuela to Brazil becomes a vital companion to a traveling couple because she is able to breastfeed. It’s a harrowing story that gives a human face to the people who are often anonymous and forgotten in the difficult trek towards the promise of a better life. 

WHEN THE SUN SETS (14 minutes, South Africa)
A Black nurse in apartheid 1980s South Africa does everything she can to save her brother when she learns that he is in trouble. This is a forceful film that is difficult to shake and pays homage to the many people brutally treated and killed under a repressive system.

 

YOU’RE DEAD HÉLÈN (25 minutes, Belgium)
A man isn’t able to move on with his relationships because his dead girlfriend won’t leave him alone, determined that they can still be together. This one is fun and inventive, and also runs through a number of genres in its short runtime. A feature-length adaptation is in the works. 

So where does this leave us?

I’m tempted to think that You’re Dead Helen and The Long Goodbye are the frontrunners. Censor of Dreams and Please Hold are also legitimate contenders as somewhat tonally lighter fare, but that’s not usually what Oscar voters tend to go for in this category.

Predictions:

• Ala Kachuu – Take and Run
• Distances
• The Long Goodbye
• When the Sun Sets
• You’re Dead Helen 

alt. Censor of Dreams, Please Hold

Have you seen any of these films, and, if so, what are you rooting for?

Comments

[MrW]

You're Dead Hélène is easily the best of the 13 contenders I have seen so far, but it's not really what the Academy tends to go for in this category, at least in the last 20 years or so. They want short films in which children live in war zones and suffer, or have cancer and suffer, or just suffer in general. Out of all the nominees, Tala'Vision fits that mold best, and I'd be suprised if it didn't make the cut.

[Kris]

Tastes are sooo different :)
My top (so far still missing 2):
1. Les Grandes Claques
2. Ala Kachuu — Take and Run
3. Stenofonen
4. The Long Goodbye
5. The Dress
---
6. Frimas
7. Tala’vision
8- Under the Heavens
9. The Criminals
10. When the Sun Sets
11. Please Hold
12. You’re Dead Helen
13. Censor of Dreams