Although a majority of the films nominated for Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards are from the United States (save South Korea's Parasite and Britain's 1917), the lesser known nominees in the live action shorts category depict stories from all across the world. Viewers interested in this year's short films will have to "overcome the one-inch barrier of subtitles," — in the words of Bong Joon-Ho — but such a feat is well worth the experience. All five Oscar nominees for this year's live action shorts category are mini cinematic journeys that invoke empathy, intrigue, and wonder.
A Sister
Summary
A woman (Selma Alaoui) is riding in the passenger seat of a car, driving down the highway. Telling the driver (Guillaume Duhesme) she is calling her sister, the woman calls emergency services and speaks to a female operator (Veerle Baetens). Through a series of coded questions, the female operator discovers the woman has been attacked and kidnapped, and stays on the line with the caller as the situation progresses. This Belgian short film was directed by Delphine Girard.
Review
A Sister is suspenseful, emotional, and quite gripping. Even though it’s a mere 16 minutes long, the short manipulates dramatic tension so the viewer feels like they’re watching a much longer piece. The emotional draw stems from both the viewer’s hope that the passenger is brought to safety, and the incomprehensible bond that the two women — who will probably never meet — build over a 15 minute phone call.
Brotherhood
Summary
In this short film by Meryam Joobeur, a young Tunisian man, Malek (Malek Mechergui), returns home to his family with his pregnant wife, Reem (Jasmin Lazid), after fighting with ISIS in Syria. Malek fled to Syria as a result of a fraught relationship with his father, Mohamed (Mohamed Houcine Grayaa), which endures after Malek returns to Tunisia. It is revealed that Malek cut ties with ISIS because he regretted his decision to leave Tunisia in the first place, and married Reem —who is pregnant with another man’s child — in an attempt to free her from human trafficking. Thus, Malek is not the corrupted man Mohamed thought he was; however Mohammad realizes this too late and has already arranged punishment for his son and daughter-in-law.
Review
Brotherhood is passionate and heartbreaking, and humanizes the families inadvertently involved with terrorism in and around Syria. It is a bold and patient piece that illuminates conflict in the Middle East in a new, intimate way.
NEFTA Football Club
Summary
Two Algerian men put headphones on a donkey carrying bags of drugs and train it to cross the border between Algeria and Tunisia to graze. While wandering nearby the border, two young Tunisian brothers find the donkey, and the older of the two recognizes it as a drug mule. Looking to make money, the older brother confiscates the bags of drugs in hopes to sell it. However, the younger brother thinks the bags are full of laundry detergent, and uses the powder inside them for more practical, innocent purposes.
Review
NEFTA Football Club, by Yves Piat, is cheeky and fun, mostly because neither young boy gets in any serious trouble.
Saria
Summary
Saria, written and directed by Bryan Buckley, tells the true story of the 41 girls who were killed in a fire at Virgen de la Asunción Orphanage in Guatemala in March 2017. The story is primarily told through the lens of Saria (Estafanía Tellez), an empowered, righteous young girl who vehemently defies the orphanage’s abusive caretakers and teachers and dreams of running away to America.
Review
Saria is absolutely devastating and necessary viewing. Beyond the piece bringing to light the injustice that ended the lives of so many young, powerful women, it showcases their strength in the face of inequity and hopelessness. Saria and her contemporaries dared to dream — and to escape when the time came. The short film is moving, tragic, and galvanizing.
The Neighbor’s Window
Summary
A middle(ish) aged couple (Maria Dizzia and Greg Keller) living in Brooklyn with their three young children sees their neighbors (Juliana Canfield and Bret Lada) across the street having sex through their kitchen window. What begins as a voyeuristic, sexually-charged glimpse into the lives of the neighbors becomes a fascination with the neighbors in general — who, even after tragedy strikes, don’t purchase curtains — borne out of an occurrence of random, visual intimacy. As it turns out, the neighbors have been looking in on the family, too.
Review
Written, directed, and produced by Marshall Curry, The Neighbor’s Window is a tear-jerker. It alludes to the fragility of life and is a twisted reminder that the grass is hardly ever greener on the other side (or, in the apartment across the street). Dizzia's performance is quite laudable; even though much of her performance is in silence as she intently watches the neighbors, the intrigue, curiosity, sympathy, and gratitude her character feels is wonderfully palpable through her facial expressions and gestures.
Final Prediction
The Oscar will go to Saria. The short film is beautifully done and packs more of a punch than the other four; although all five films really stuck with me. However, Saria's truth-telling element allows it rise above its competitors.
All five of the shorts are now playing at the IFC Center in New York City, NY, and will continue to run after the Academy Awards air on Sunday, February 9, 2020.
