BEST ANIMATED SHORT
One Small Step
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
Animal Behavior stands out for being the only short among all three categories to only be a comedy. Unfortunately, the humor in the film is a touch lacking. The jokes themselves aren't bad, but they are all very expected. The moment you see each of the characters you know what their joke is, and the film never subverts that. It's a pleasant diversion, but even at a scant 14 minutes it runs out of steam. B-
BAO
If you saw Incredibles 2, then you saw this film. Armed with the budget and technology of Pixar, this film is a visual treat that manages to be hysterical and heartfelt at the same time. Though it doesn't quite reach the emotional highs of a few of its co-nominees, it's easily the funniest short film nominated, and is also exciting as the first Pixar short to feature a female director. Overall, a very worthwhile way to spend ten minutes. A-
LATE AFTERNOON
Judging by the animation style, this Irish short has by far the lowest budget of the animated shorts. This is not an insult, but rather a compliment in its own way. Though not as technically proficient as some of the others, you can really feel the effort and artistry in every frame of this film. As well, it is strung together with a touching story and a heartfelt ending. A
ONE SMALL STEP
Honesty time: I cried more during this short film than any feature length film this year. It's not the most visually dynamic, nor the most narratively complicated short. Instead, it simply tells its story with an eye for emotional impact. The characters are simple yet relatable. The animation is straightforward yet evocative. The story is effectively told and draws the audience in. Honestly, forget the shorts, this is one of the best films of the year. A+
WEEKENDS
Weekends, a story about a child splitting his time between divorced parents, possesses a wonderful visual eye. Its images are stylized, but used to great effect, focusing more on representing the protagonist's mindset rather than actual events. It also makes great use of music to show the different environments that each parent represents. Unfortunately, the story follows the expected beats, and at a certain point no new information is being relayed. Still, it effectively relays emotion, which seems to be the main point. B+
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Black Sheep
BLACK SHEEP
Black Sheep tells its story in a unique style. It allows its subject, Cornelius, to tell the story of his adolescence while occasionally cutting to recreations of these moments. This approach allows for a very personal Point of View feeling, placing us right in Cornelius' shoes. It also tackles a different aspect of racism than most films show: that of the self hatred that can accompany it. Powerful, emotional and visually dynamic, it is a great example of what the format can accomplish. A
END GAME
At 40 minutes, End Game is the longest of the Short film nominees by a decent amount. While there is a lot of emotion in its premise, following several individuals after they find out they are going to die soon, it makes some odd choices that undercut this potential. One individual and their family take up about 60% of the films focus, splitting the remaining 40% between five or six others. The idea behind this seems to be to kill two birds with one stone. The one family allows a deep and full examination of how imminent death affects a family, while the others show different possible reactions to the same situation. The decision hurts the impact, though, as the cuts away from the main family take away slightly from the investment, and the others aren't really given enough time to really get an understanding of their reactions. As a feature, this could have been quite powerful, but as a short, it feels as though it hasn't really figured out what it's trying to do. B-
LIFEBOAT
Content warning: Lifeboat contains images of real corpses. This short feels the most important and urgent out of all of them. It follows a German nonprofit rescue boat as it saves several hundred refugees stranded in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. The film allows both the rescuers and refugees to tell their stories, providing a gut wrenching and unavoidable understanding of a lesser known hardship that is occurring in the world. As traumatizing as some of the images of the film can be, it also serves as a beacon of hope, as there are still people committed to doing the right thing. It's powerful and timely, but for many it's probably just a little too real. A-
A NIGHT AT THE GARDEN
A Night at the Garden is a weird entry into this category. While the other nominees all involved filming and editing footage taken for the express purpose of their film, A Night at the Garden is made up entirely of barely edited archival footage. Depicting a Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden before even the start of WWII, it is a terrifying and timely reminder of the fact that our country may not be as modern as we hope. Still, the film is less "look what I made" and more "look what I found." Powerful and effective, A Night at the Garden simply feels more like a viral video than an Oscar nominated film. B+
PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE
The only one of the documentary shorts to have an uplifting tone, Period. End of Sentence provides a powerful counterpoint to the others. The film depicts women in India working to create a more accepting environment for menstruation in a part of the world where it is so taboo that many don't even understand what it is. This film sheds light on the damage such a taboo can have to its population, while also telling a story of women taking control of their own lives. Powerful, uplifting and informative, it is everything a documentary short should be. And the best part is: It's on Netflix, so you can watch it at any time! A
LIVE ACTION SHORTS
Marguerite
DETAINMENT
Even amongst the recent annals of true-crime stories, Detainment is especially disturbing. Told through police interviews with two ten-year-old boys, it tells the story of their murder of a two-year-old. The editing of this film is expertly done, cutting back and forth between the two different interviews and the day of the crime, providing a view of what happened, albeit told through unreliable narrators. It's lack of a clear resolution is the only issue, as after such a horrifying experience, denying the audience a sense of satisfaction and answers forces the crime and questions to linger in their mind, although that was likely the point. A-
FAUVE
Another tale of young boys in danger (it was a running theme in this category) Fauve rises high on the strength of its two lead performances. Telling a story of a conflict between the boys and nature, it has some gorgeous cinematography, but overall does the least to justify the darkness of its story. Normally this wouldn't be as much of a problem, but when viewed with several other hyper-dark shorts, the film's more abstract nature makes it feel just a bit slighter than its competition. B
MADRE
As dark as the rest of these films are, Madre is the only one that really feels like a horror movie. The twist is that the film takes place entirely in an apartment, with the horror happening on the other side of a phone call. Though that may not seem very interesting, it is a testament to Rodrigo Sorogoyen's directing that the film is a truly tense and frightening experience. Through uncomfortable long takes and a harrowing lead performance, Madre taps into every parent's worst nightmare, and allows for no easy answers. A
MARGUERITE
Occupying much the same role in its category as Period. End of Sentence (that of the one spark of light in a sea of darkness) Marguerite tells a touching tale of human connection. The story of an older woman coming to terms with the changing of the times through her visiting nurse, Marguerite is both melancholy and heartwarming. Presenting the struggles of aging with a matter-of-fact attitude, the powerful performances of Beatrice Picard and Sandrine Bisson sell the emotion at the heart of this tale. A
SKIN
Skin tells a small scale story of racial conflict that is remarkable in how unwilling it is to pull its punches. Though often soap opera-y, the film presents a pessimistic and violent story of unchecked anger and retribution. The main drawback of the film is that it's final sequence has a ton of unexplored potential. The last few minutes could easily have provided the main plot of the film, and could have allowed for a deeper examination of racism and character growth. Instead, the film gets wrapped up quickly and a bit too neatly. Still, powerful performances and strong filmmaking help sell this tale, assuming the viewer isn't completely exhausted of darkness by this point of the lineup. B+
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