CHICAGO – In a year where commercial products and prefabricated award bids are being celebrated, it’s refreshing to see two Oscar categories uncorrupted by popular taste. While the short film nominees of 2010 are a mixed bag at best, they offer a splendid variety of fresh artistic visions from around the world. There isn’t a Pixar film in the bunch, though a certain beloved British comedy duo make a welcome return to the category they’ve won twice before.
“The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2010” will have a one-week run at Chicago’s Landmark Century Centre Cinema, beginning Friday, February 19th. They are all well worth checking out, though the animated shorts are considerably more polished and rewarding than the live-action shorts, which often play like teasers for a feature-length work. Each group of five competing shorts will be shown in separate programs, with the animated nominees accompanied by three additional shorts: Poland’s “Kinematograph,” Canada’s “Runaway,” and (of course) Pixar’s “Partly Cloudy.” Cinema lovers are well advised to attend both programs, yet for those with a limited time frame and budget, I’d recommend the animated compilation. Here are the Academy Award nominees, in order of best to worst, starting with those in the Best Animated Short category…
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEES: BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
 Animated Short Program Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
“A Matter of Loaf and Death” directed by Nick Park
When it comes to grand entertainment, Park’s “Wallace and Gromit” shorts are as good as it gets. No stop-motion filmmaker is more gifted at fusing dry humor and character nuance with brilliantly choreographed set-pieces in which every second counts than Park. This latest comic adventure may not be quite up to par with Park’s masterpieces “The Wrong Trousers” and “A Close Shave,” but it’s still great fun. Bumbling Wallace (voiced by the incomparable Peter Sallis) and his wordless yet wise pup Gromit are now in the bread-baking business. During one of their zany deliveries, they meet a deceptively sweet lady who’s been secretly bumping off cooks around town. Only Gromit can save his thick-headed master from certain doom. The plot machinery is a tad creaky; must every love interest for Wallace be harboring evil secrets, and must Wallace always disbelieve his trusty canine friend? Yet such questions evaporate in light of such a superlative execution. The subject matter may be too dark for little tykes, but the film is sure to delight the inner child in older viewers. Just try not laughing when Wallace exclaims, “Help! I’ve got a bomb in me pants!”
“Logorama” directed by Francois Alaux, Herve de Crecy and Ludovic Houplain
This jaw-dropping short from Argentina boasts the most ingenious concept of all five nominees. It takes place in a town consisting entirely of logos, where the Michelin Men are wisecracking cops in pursuit of a gun-wielding Ronald McDonald. The voices and sound design are straight out of a routine Hollywood action picture, but the visuals are pure genius. It’s rather amazing that the film can be publicly shown at all without the threat of a lawsuit, since the film utilizes thousands of instantly recognizable mascots and trademarked images to scathingly satirize corporate culture. There’s enough symbolism and multi-leveled detail to warrant multiple viewings, and the endless string of cameos are often hilarious, from the flamboyantly gay Mr. Clean, to the Pringles logo voiced by David Fincher.
“The Lady and the Reaper” directed by Javier Recio Garcia
The troubling, timely moral dilemma at the heart of this Spanish short is dealt with in a zippy, lightweight manner reminiscent of Pixar. Some may find this approach unsettling or off-putting, but I found it just brilliant. An ailing old lady, eagerly awaiting her reunion with her departed husband, is caught in a literal tug of war between the Grim Reaper and a hotshot doctor intent on keeping her alive. The short, produced by Antonio Banderas, builds much promise for first-time filmmaker Garcia, whose playful tone and inventive visuals offset the inherent grimness of his subject matter without diluting its provocative implications.
“French Roast” directed by Fabrice O. Joubert
The most elegant short of the bunch boasts extraordinarily creative character design and masterful comic timing, though its story may be a touch too slight for its own good. It centers on an uptight gentleman who orders coffee at a Parisian cafe, only to discover that he’s lost his wallet. The camera stays at the same fixed perspective, allowing the action to unfold as it might onstage. Joubert (animation director of the upcoming “Despicable Me”) paces the film at an almost melodic rhythm, while viewing each character through a surrealistic lens, from the birdlike nun to the bum outfitted with what looks like a gray lion’s mane. It’s a shame that the main character’s face remains so inexpressive.
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” directed by Nicky Phelan
Marred by rather pedestrian animation, this snarky Irish picture is the sole weak nominee of the category. It has a cute premise, but the story is all set-up with no satisfactory punch-line. The titular bitter granny reads a bedtime story to her petrified grandchild, using the opportunity to vent about her scornful family. While the image of Granny O’Grimm taking the role of Malficent in “Sleeping Beauty” is good for a chuckle, it wears out its welcome after only six minutes. What nearly saves the film is the spirited vocal performance of Kathleen O’Rourke, who originally created O’Grimm as a character in her comedy show.
Move on to page two for the live-action program:
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEES: BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM
 Live-Action Program Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
“Kavi” directed by Gregg Helvey
Here’s a slice of reality guaranteed to haunt you. A poverty-stricken boy in India lives the life of a slave, working with his parents in a brick kiln, while other boys his age attend school and play cricket. This devastating real-life subject matter could have easily been turned into a manipulative, socially conscious weepie, but director Helvey brings a neorealistic approach to the material that’s evocative of Ramin Bahrani’s “Chop Shop.” As the titular young protagonist, Sagar Salunke doesn’t hit a single false note, and his performance builds a wrenching power as he begins to rebel against his abusive boss. “Kavi” has a simple story to tell, and its straightforward urgency evades any traps of sentimentality. The final shot is unforgettable, leading to a title card stating that 27 million people are currently trapped in “modern day slavery.” It’s a reminder that “Slumdog Millionaire”’s happy ending was little more than a Bollywood fantasy.
“Miracle Fish” directed by Luke Doolan
Like many shorts, this one is limited by its plot, which consists solely of a contrived twist. Yet Australian director Doolan earns his rug-pulling climax by grounding the film in mundane, subtly brooding authenticity. Like many of the characters in this year’s nominated live-action shorts, the young hero of “Miracle Fish” comes from a poor family and is viewed by his peers as a source of mockery. After falling asleep in his school’s sick room, he awakens to find the building utterly empty. As the boy drifts through eerily vacant classrooms, the film appears to be a melding of “Home Alone” and “28 Days Later.” Has the boy’s wish comes true? There may not be much behind the calculated structure of this mood piece, but Doolan keeps the viewer hooked the whole way through, keeping his camera at the level of his pint-sized protagonist. When the climactic twist finally arrives, it packs a wallop…and no, it does not involve zombies.
“Instead of Abracadabra” directed by Patrik Eklund
On the basis of this quirky charmer, Swedish director Eklund seems capable of making the next “Napoleon Dynamite.” His film centers on a similarly gangly, spectacle-clad oddball (Simon J. Berger) who comfortably lives in a state of arrested development. At age 25, he still lives at home, performing magic shows for his long-suffering parents (it’s hard to talk to your son about employment when he’s pulling pennies out of your nose). His dreams of fame and love seem to be within his grasp when he discovers that a cute nurse is in need of a magician. Eklund’s script is perfect for the type of cringe-inducing humor characterized by awkward silences. Berger deftly walks the fine line between endearing whimsy and klutzy creepiness, and while not every gag works, the final scene is a keeper.
“The Door” directed by Juanita Wilson
Based on Svetlana Alexievich’s “Monologue About a Whole Life Written Down on Doors, the testimony of Nikolai Fomich Kalugin,” this weighty short from Ireland simply doesn’t have enough time to do its source material justice. It opens with a man running across a desolate landscape that could easily have been inhabited by Viggo Mortensen in “The Road.” The man’s story is told in flashbacks that are steeped in sorrow, illustrating how his family was forced to evacuate their home after the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 (viewers unfamiliar with this historic event will spend most of the time feeling lost). The film is well-shot and well-acted, but it merely feels like underdeveloped fragments of a feature film.
“The New Tenants” directed by Joachim Back
Working neither as a black comedy nor a tense thriller, this star-studded short is little more than a diverting curiosity. There’s wonderful dialogue at the beginning, well written and delivered by David Rakoff, who exudes colorful Manhattan neuroses as if he was in a Tony Kushner play. The opening moments between Rakoff and his boyfriend (Jamie Harrold) are so amusing that it’s a letdown when the plot literally comes knocking on their apartment door. Soon, the couple is visited by various special guest weirdos (Vincent D’Onofrio! Kevin Corrigan!), who each get a miniature showcase before violently exiting. The film is too clever by half, all the way down to its ending credits, which include a complete recipe for cinnamon buns (sorry Back, but Scorsese’s “Italianamerican” did that first, and to infinitely more meaningful effect).
 [15] | By MATT FAGERHOLM [16] |
Links:
[1] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/users/briantt
[2] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/a-matter-of-loaf-and-death
[3] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/academy-awards
[4] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/french-roast
[5] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/granny-ogrimms-sleeping-beauty
[6] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/hollywoodchicagodotcom-content
[7] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/kavi
[8] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/logorama
[9] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/matt-fagerholm
[10] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/movie-review
[11] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/nick-park
[12] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/oscar-nominated-short-films-2010
[13] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/the-door
[14] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/the-lady-and-the-reaper
[15] mailto:matt@hollywoodchicago.com
[16] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/about#MATT