Weekends
For decades, the nominated films in the Academy Award shorts categories (Live Action, Animation, and Documentary) were difficult to see outside of screenings made available to Oscar voters. In the last decade, however, independent distribution companies and theatrical chains like Magnolia Pictures and Landmark Cinemas have given audiences the opportunity to view them in advance of the big night.
Billed as a way to get the upper hand in your Oscar pool, the shorts programs nevertheless provide a unique showcase for new filmmaking talent whose work isn’t always beholden to the same conventions and expectations of their feature length brethren. Still, the level of quality runs the gamut just like any other Academy Award category.
Animation offers a mostly mixed bag of selections. Those who saw Incredibles 2 over the summer are already familiar with Domee Shi’s Bao about a Chinese mother experiencing a crisis of motherhood by way of culinary allegory. Despite its Pixar polish, the film remains a moving testament to how quickly life can pass us by.
One Small Step also looks at the sacrifices of parenting, but from the vantage point of a child. Obsessed with all things outer space, a young girl dreams of becoming an astronaut while her hardworking father does his best to financially and emotionally support those dreams. Directors Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas trace victories and tragedies without the crutch of dialogue, but still manage to paint in broad, sentimental strokes.
Continuing the theme of adolescent uncertainty is Trevor Jimenez’s Weekends, which is told from the perspective of a boy navigating the push-pull of divorce and joint custody. Its minimalist 2-D sketches are sobering and surreal, a shape-shifting monument to the protagonist’s growing anxiety.
Speaking of stress, every mammal, insect and bird in the cloying Animal Behavior suffers from compulsive behavior. Written, directed and animated by Alison Snowden and David Fine, this comedy of unbridled rage and ego unfortunately relies far too heavily on cliché for laughs.
The category’s tonal and narrative outlier is Late Afternoon, in which an elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s has her memory triggered by familiar experiences. Louise Bagnall’s film is modest by design and somewhat simplistic, but its heart is in the right place.
The Live Action Short category has even more extreme discrepancy between its best and worst titles. Starting with the dredges, Detainment turns a horrific true crime story into a brutally trite, slow-motion-obsessed portrait of banal evil. The brutal murder of toddler James Bulger by two boys in Ireland made headlines around the world in 1993, but director Vincent Lambe’s only goal is to sensationalize the lingering ambiguities that surround the killer’s motives.
Guy Nattiv’s Skin also simplifies a ripped-from-the-headlines tragedy, but at least has a sense of it’s own ridiculousness. White supremacists lead by Johnny (Jonathan Tucker) party, shoot guns and posture aggressively. When the racist’s son shares an innocence smile with a black man at the supermarket, it leads to a heinous hate crime. Little does the perpetrator know that the victim has a gang of his own, and in this film, vengeance is best served with tattoo ink.
The theme of children in distress seems to be a popular one amongst Academy voters. Madre (Mother) by Rodrigo Sorogoyen unfolds in a handful of long takes depicting every parent’s worst nightmare. Panic grips one Spanish mother after she receives a frantic phone call from her son who’s been left alone on a desolate French beach while on vacation with his father. Very few answers emerge, leaving only the devastating feeling of helplessness lingering in the air.
Rounding out the tetralogy of suffering children is the French Canadian entry Fauve from director Jérémy Comte. Two boys roughhouse and talk shit while exploring abandoned trains at a massive rock quarry only to encounter the uncaring strength of Mother Nature. With bleak, dystopic locales reminiscent of Tarkovsky, this elemental study of power and regret is a stunner.
With all that tween terror it’s easy to lose track of the delicate, sincere Marguerite, the story of an elderly woman’s friendship with her home nurse. Marianne Farley’s drama considers the long-gestating, potent emotions felt by closeted gay people who suffered in silence for decades.
On the whole, the films in the Documentary Shorts category are challenging and mesmerizing, and by far the most worthy of your attention. Marshall Curry’s A Night at the Garden compiles archival footage from an America First rally in 1939 that eerily echoes Trump’s own vile propaganda machine. This is pure hate on open display.
Black Sheep
Black Sheep from director Ed Perkins examines the psychological ripples of said hatred in the life of a Nigerian man looking back on his teenage years spent living in Essex. Facing daily discrimination, Cornelius Walker decides to befriend the very racists who’ve so gleefully made his life a living hell. Told through a stirring first-person interview with the main subject, it makes for an apt companion piece to Yance Ford’s Strong Island.
Rousing and brave, Rayka Zehtabchi’s Period. End of Sentence. champions the efforts of activists living in a rural Indian community outside of New Delhi. They provide quality feminine products for those in need and fight the social stigmatization of menstruation in a country riddled by gender inequality.
The heartbreaker of the bunch, End Game, imbeds itself in the Palliative Care Unit at UCSF Medical Center and other end-of-life programs in San Francisco. Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, it’s as emotionally devastating as it sounds.
Finally, Skye Fitzgerald’s Lifeboat follows a vessel owned and operated by a German nonprofit that patrols the seas off North Africa trying to save migrants attempting to make the dangerous journey to Europe. While well-meaning, the film pales in comparison to Gianfranco Rosi’s superior Fire at Sea.
Landmark’s Ken Cinema will screen the Live Action and Animation Shorts programs, and Digital Gym Cinema will present the Documentary Shorts beginning Friday, Feb. 8.
Opening
2019 Oscar Nominated Documentary Short Films: A program presenting the five non-fiction films vying for the Academy Award. Topics include social justice, health care and racism. Opens Friday, Feb. 8, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.
2019 Oscar Nominated Live Action and Animation Short Films: This year’s Academy Award-nominated shorts cover a range of topics from children in distress to the fading memories of an Alzheimer’s patient. Opens Friday, Feb. 8 at the Landmark Ken Cinema.
Cold Pursuit: Liam Neeson plays a snowplow driver who takes revenge on his son’s killers in this remake of the Norwegian thriller In Order of Disappearance. Opens Friday, Feb. 8 in wide release.
San Diego Jewish Film Festival: The 29th annual event showcases the latest in Jewish cinema from around the world. Opens Thursday, Feb. 7 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 17 at various venues throughout San Diego. For more information visit sdcjc.org.
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part: Batman (Will Arnett) and the rest of the Lego crew face a new challenge when alien invaders start wrecking structures faster than they can be rebuilt. Opens Friday, Feb. 8 in wide release.
What Men Want: Exiled from the male-dominated profession of sports representation, Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) gains an edge on her counterparts after discovering she can hear men’s thoughts. Opens Friday, Feb. 8 in wide release.