Cinephile No. 878 "Oscar-Nominated Live-Action Shorts"
Recommendation: 4/5 SHOWTIME
Plot: “In "Two Distant Strangers", cartoonist Carter James' repeated attempts to get home to his dog are thwarted by a recurring deadly encounter that forces him to re-live the same awful day over and over again.”
Review: As in years past, I spent a Sunday watching all the films nominated in the Live-Action, Animated, and Documentary shorts categories. Also mirroring years past, I am highlighting my favorite in each category. Something I am doing differently this year is reviewing all three in the same post.
The Live-Action shorts category is stacked with tremendous films. In earnest, there are two that rise above the rest, but the film that will stick with me the longest is “Two Distant Strangers.”
The easiest way to describe this film is “Groundhog Day” meets the Black Lives Matter movement. After an evening spent away from home, Carter wants nothing more than to get home to his dog, but a violent confrontation with a police officer leaves him dead on a New York City sidewalk, or so we think.
Carter wakes from a dream to find himself stuck in an infinite time loop. Much like “Groundhog Day,” he then begins experimenting with ways out of this nightmare. I will not spoil the ending, but I will say this film does a tremendous job displaying the exhaustion felt by minority communities as they navigate a world in which the deck has been stacked against them.
Cinephile No. 879 "Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts"
Recommendation: 3/5 STREAM
Plot: “In the aftermath of tragedy, two grieving parents' journey through an emotional void as they mourn the loss of a child.” -IMDB
Review: As a collection, the films nominated in the Animated Shorts category weren’t the strongest with one real exception. “If Anything Happens I Love You” is utterly heartbreaking. As we open on a couple silently eating at the dining room table, we instantly know something has forced them apart. We don’t know what, but we know it has forced this couple to a collective breaking point.
As the story unravels, we discover they have survived a horrible and uniquely American loss. As they come to terms with this reality, we are forced to ask why stories such as this keep happening here and nowhere else in the developed world.
Cinephile No. 880 "Oscar-Nominated Documentary Shorts"
Recommendation: 5/5 Stream
Plot: “Filmed from inside two of the most active therapeutic feeding centers in Yemen, HUNGER WARD documents two female health care workers fighting to thwart the spread of starvation against the backdrop of a forgotten war. The film provides an unflinching portrait of Dr. Aida Alsadeeq and Nurse Mekkia Mahdi as they try to save the lives of hunger-stricken children within a population on the brink of famine.” -IMDB
Review: The films nominated in the documentary shorts category are strong. So strong, that I recommend you see them all. Picking my favorite film was a near-impossible feat. Ultimately, I landed on the short I found to be the most eye-opening and revealing. Without question in my mind, that film is “Hunger Ward.”
There is so much I don’t know about the war and humanitarian crisis in Yemen. This movie doesn’t spend time educating the audience on how we got here. Instead, it openly and honestly discusses the ramifications of war. As famine strangles the country, we see families making impossible decisions. We see death and senseless loss. We see the real cost of war. Without a doubt in my mind, this short has as much to say about war as “Platoon” or “Apocalypse Now.” I highly recommend you see it.
Cinephile No. 874 “The Father”
Recommendation: 4/5 SHOWTIME
Plot: “A man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.” -IMDB
Review: “The Father” never comes out and directly says what the diagnosis for Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) is as we watch him navigate the fault lines of memory. Based on my own understandings, I believe he is suffering from some form of dementia, but that is beyond the point of this film. Instead, we are asked to see the world as violent, angry, confusing, and heartbreaking. We are asked to see the world through the eyes of someone who cannot trust his own memories.
Anthony Hopkins, for his part, gives one of the best performances of his career. Almost every single scene is manipulated like clay to a master sculptor. Olivia Coleman, who plays Anne (Anthony’s daughter) reacts beautifully as an emotionally exhausted daughter attempting to help her father navigate this new and problematic world. Together, they are a powerhouse that gives this film weight, and the seriousness the subject matter deserves.
As we see the world through the eyes of Anthony, we often find ourselves distracted from the experience, mistrusting the timeline of events, searching for truth, and wondering what is real and what is imagined. This is a tremendous amount of work to ask for an audience, but the payoff in the final scenes is worth the work.
I left the theater with a better understanding of the plight of those suffering from memory loss. I also left with a fear of mine personified. Not since “Still Alice,” have I felt this way. For its ability to make my distant thoughts a reality, I believe this film is worthy of your time. It is bound to open your eyes too.
Cinephile No. 876 “Nobody”
Recommendation: 4/5 SHOWTIME
Plot: “A bystander who intervenes to help a woman being harassed by a group of men becomes the target of a vengeful drug lord.” -IMDB
Review: The first trailer for “Nobody” left me stunned, but not in a good way. I was baffled by any attempt to make Bod Odenkirk (Hutch Mansell) into an action hero. Yet, it is this bewilderment that serves this film so well. In fact, when the credits rolled and I exited the theater, I could not imagine anyone else as the character.
Hutch Mansell is a normal guy. He isn’t flashy, awe-inspiring, or noticeable. He is a great dad, married to his routines, emotionally estranged from his wife, and buried in spreadsheets at work. When a break-in happens at the family home, Hutch reacts in a manner we expect. He isn’t heroic or brave. His son fulfills that duty. He is emotionless as thieves escape his home.
Yet, Hutch is a man of two worlds. He is a former auditor for those three-letter agencies of the US government. Once upon a time, he was the man sent in for off-the-books cleanup which often ended violently. Wanting a normal life with a wife and kids, he attempted to walk away from that life for good. Oddly enough, it isn’t the break-in that snaps him back into action. It is the fact the thieves stole his daughter's kitty-cat bracelet. “And you just don’t do that!”
When Hutch snaps, it is with raw, uncut, and pure violence. The action sequence takes place on a commuter bus. Thanks to the confined space and camera work, this sequence of events is breathtaking. It is also here where the film turns. One of the people on the bus that Hutch destroys is related to a Russian drug lord charged with protecting oligarchs’ money. When he finds out his nephew may never walk again, vengeance becomes his sole focus.
From here, the movie enters its final chapters, all of which are ridiculous, deeply entertaining, and fun. As Hutch prepares for and forces war with his nemesis, we are treated to a fantastic battle in Hutch’s home, a high-speed chase, and workplace mayhem. When the dust settles and the blood on the wall finally dries, Hutch is a completely different person.
On its surface, this film shouldn’t be this exciting. Suburban action films shouldn’t be a thing, but this story is compelling, properly stitched together, and features blindingly fun action sequences. Taken together, it is a story I would watch again. And, if any new iterations should make their way to the big screen, I would be there for it.
Be good to each other,
Nathan
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