Once upon a time films were about an hour and a half. Now blockbusters may be over three hours. Some arthouse films may go even longer. Shorts demonstrate that the economy of storytelling can still be powerful. (It?s worth remembering that Jesus was very good at making a point with a parable of only a few sentences.) Each year there are Oscars? awarded in three categories of short films: Live Action Shorts, Animated Shorts, and Short Documentaries. Programs of these shorts can be seen in various places around the country. Check 2023 Oscar? Nominated Short Films – ShortsTV for more information. Here are my thoughts on this year?s nominees for Best Live Action Short.
An Irish Goodbye (23 minutes, directed by Tom Berkeley and Ross White). Turlough and Lorcan are estranged brothers who have come together after their mother?s death. Turlough has gone off to London, while Lorcan (who has Down Syndrome) has stayed at home with their mother to care for the farm in rural Northern Ireland. Turlough wants to sell the farm and send Lorcan to be taken care of by their aunt. Lorcan wants to stay and care for the farm. Before he will agree to go, Lorcan insists on doing all the 100 things on their mother?s bucket list with her ashes. He two brothers begin to reestablish their bond, but the origin of the list comes into doubt.
This is a very entertaining story of family done with great (if sometimes dark) humor. The sibling friction surely resonates with viewers but we discover that that friction can be overcome with all they share together.
Ivalu (16 minutes, directed by Anders Walter). Set in Greenland, Pipaluk is searching for her older sister Ivalu. Her father seems uninterested in what has happened to Ivalu. Pipaluk goes to many places the sisters have gone together, and she remembers bits that Ivalu has said that begin to bring a foreboding aspect to the story.
Seeing the broad range of Greenland?s natural beauty is reason enough to watch this film. That nature, like the story can be both delightful and frightening. An element of the story is the beautiful traditional dress Ivalu wore for her confirmation on a bright sunny day. But, by the end, the darkness just emphasizes that she will not wear that dress again.
Le Pupille (37 minutes, directed by Alice Rohrwacher). Set in World War II Italy, we see a group of girls in a strict, religious boarding school. It is Christmas Eve and the girls will create a Nativity scene and locals will come with gifts so that the innocents will pray for them. Viewers will fall in love with the girls, especially young Seraphina. The cherubic faces of the girls certainly give the impression of innocence. Yet the nuns constantly castigate them for wrongdoing. One of the gifts brought to the convent is a decadent cake made with 70 eggs (in wartime!). The mother superior wants to make a gift of the cake to the bishop, but one young girl (having been told she?s not good anyway) decides she wants her piece.
This is a story about what it means to be good or bad, about pure and impure desires, about manipulation and freedom. It is also a story of simple joys that may seem to be born of selfishness, but instead must be shared. Le Pupille can be seen on Disney+.
Night Ride (Nattrikken) (15 minutes, directed by Eirik Tveiten). Late on a cold December night, Ebba waits for the tram to take her home. When the driver goes on a break, Ebba sets off on a strange adventure. Along the way a young trans woman is harassed by a pair of boorish young men. Things get tense and dangerous, but soon Ebba will create a kind of karmic justice.
The film balances humor with drama. The tram is on rails, so we know it will only go one direction, but this story has some unexpected turns along the way that create an enjoyable if sometimes bumpy ride.
The Red Suitcase (La Valise Rouge) (17 minutes, Directed by Cyrus Neshvad). At the Luxembourg airport, we see an Iranian girl after everyone else has taken their luggage and left. When she gets to the door to the terminal, she hides to avoid leaving. We learn she is sixteen, and her husband to be is waiting for her. This is not the life she wants. When she takes off her hijab, the possibility of a different life begins to unfold.
The film highlights the plight of Iranian women who have been seeking rights. This girl is seen as property by both her father (still in Iran) and her increasingly angry husband who refuses to be embarrassed by her rejection. Is there a new life for her? We can only hope.
My favorites of the group are An Irish Goodbye for it excellent humor and storytelling, followed closely by The Red Suitcase and La Pupille, which each bring us new understandings of life and community.
Photos courtesy of ShortsTV
