I watched the Oscar shorts.
And that's all I wrote about.
My partner and I went to a local independent theater thrice times last week and (as Three Stacks would say) did something out of the ordinary and watched 15 Oscar-nominated shorts on the big screen. To answer the immediate questions: I think your local theater may be running this program too, I guess only a handful were good, and, yeah, it’s worth it if you do not want to (or have already) watch(ed) Madame Web or (and…?) Argyle.
I’ve ignored Oscar shorts in the past but this year is high stakes, if not for a newfound desire to stay topical in this year’s Oscar conversation, then for the current Oscar ballots happening at work in which I may or may not have the chance of winning dozens of dollars. And having never paid attention to Oscar shorts before, man…they can be a drag.
And surprisingly far-reaching, too. Borders don’t exist when the Academy considers the short feature film, whether Documentary, Animation (which is not a genre, by the way), or Live Action (also not a genre, but you knew that), and that’s surprising. A quick glance at the last decade’s worth of Best Picture nominees shows mostly American films by American directors, with few exceptions for foreign contenders. It seems that for shorts, the Oscars, somehow, could fill their ticket with more Very American things, but that’s the case here: we’ve got animation from France and Iran, a documentary from Taiwan, Live Action shorts from Denmark, United Kingdom, and Canada. I mean, everything else is American. But still, it’s nice to see.
(I also wonder how different Animation would be if we only included USA entrees. Would everything be Pixar and Dreamworks-esque? If we had a separate category for foreign short films, would we bundle diverse voices only to promote the American film industry further? Would those foreign nominees win during commercial breaks or during the red carpet YouTube preroll?)
Many of these shorts are on streaming services, and few are absolutely manipulative, pandering, and flat. Here’s the definitive ranking of all 15, from worst to best.
15. 'War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko'
Absolutely boneless. (lol, Car Seat Headrest’s “War Is Coming (If You Want It)” just started playing on my speakers.) Two opposing soldiers play chess against each via carrier pigeon and, uh, that’s about it, dude! Sean Lennon wrote this shit, and for what? To say that war sucks? To remind us all of his father’s legacy? To play the funniest needle drop of all time and remind you of that one song? The animation is just fine here, relying on the Unreal engine to give it a vague Fortnite-meets-Pixar feel, but it’s a disappointment considering everyone attached. Co-writer Dave Mullins has Pixar ties and wrote that one short, Lou, a few years back. Producer Brad Booker worked on the greatest (2D) animated feature film of all time, The Iron Giant. Yoko Ono did stuff too. Anyway, trash short, deeply unassuming.
14. The ABCs of Book Banning
Not boneless, but pointless. Directors Nazenet Habtezghi, Trish Adlesic, and Sheila Nevins interview children for their thoughts on banned books, and instead of providing any real insight or solution regarding broken public schools and the systems that govern them or the genuinely hateful, sexist, homophobic reasons why books are being banned in America, it turns into a greatest hits compilation, constantly asking its audience Did you know this book was banned? before showing the cover and following it with the stock audio clip equivalent to the Vine boom sound effect. Didn’t care for it.
Side note: Simply mentioning important social issues through a creative medium doesn’t imbue work with artistic value. The denunciation of censorship or faciscism or even literal warfare is great—cool, even. But when we conflate spotlighting with genuine action, we trivialize art’s potential. This is a theme with the worst shorts on this list, in addition to, uh, literally anything.)
13. The After
Dad busy with work but walks with daughter. Daughter asks dad to come to dance recital. Busy dad says, “Ah, okay, sure,” and meets wife. Wife and daughter die via stranger on a stabbing spree. Yeah, I spoiled it, but listen: Nah bruh, that doesn’t mean anything. This shit is 18 minutes and they die in the first four, and the rest of the short is spend showing Dad driving for his new rideshare job and interacting with passengers, subtly reacting through his grief before exaggerated acting through it. This one was directed by a photographer Misan Harriman and it didn’t do much aside from make me think about how grief hits differently for many people and maybe we shouldn’t assume everyone is okay all of the time. But we been knew that, along with War Sucks and Banning Books Is Bad. Didn’t like how manipulative that death felt.
12. The Barber of Little Rock
Man, this is one I really wanted to like because the subject was so interesting, but man it was boring. Directors John Hoffman and Christine Turner spotlight Arlo Washington, a Black man who founded the Washington Barber College in Little Rock and a non-profit loan fund called People Trust whose aim is to close the racial wealth gap further. Washington is an incredible human and a visionary, and the documentary highlights the importance of his institutions to the community, but the style isn’t there. It’s soulless, sterile. Interviews are shot so textbook-like that I didn’t ever feel the heart of the community served, only the brain behind its biggest hero.
11. Red, White and Blue
The intent is obvious from the jump, but it doesn’t have enough ambiguity to make its audience feel smart about it, even if most of the film manages to hide its Do you see what I mean? plot twist. What a weird, weird name for a short about an 8-hour mother-daughter road trip to get an out-of-state abortion. Like, I get it––we’ve failed women, and we continue to fail them. But the pro-choice messaging here feels manipulative, especially when the film stops trying to show you what it means and instead outright says what it means, which, honestly, I kinda hate! It’s morbid! Idk! Brittany Snow was great in this, though, and it's fairly memorable for what it’s worth.
10. Letter to a Pig
Not bad and I get it but I don’t REALLY get it and I feel dumb for that, so it fits right here.
9. Our Uniform
Interesting use of animation, very imaginative and interesting subject matter. This one’s from Yegane Moghaddam, depicting a girl living in Tehran, Iran, and her upbringing in segregated, very conservative schools. Not much to say other than uniforms and assimilation sucks, but entertaining enough.
8. Island in Between
A political and personal doc about the island of Kinmen and its relationship between China and Taiwan. Before watching Island In Between, I knew nothing about Kinmen, and after it was over, I knew slightly more. It was a great documentary, shot well with several quiet moments that got me thinking about the one day this piece of land will get caught in geopolitical conflict and eventually not be so quiet anymore. Shouts S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien.
7. Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó
I’m a sucker for essays and journal entries, and director Sean Wang made one here that’s good enough to be an Oscar nominee. It’s a touching love letter to his two grandmothers, showing how they spend their days and explaining their philosophies on life. They’re silly, loveable, very sweet, and seem to love the shit out of their grandson. Not much to it than that, really.
6. Invincible
Stunning, well-acted, very good. Directed by Vincent René-Lortie, Invincible details a 14-year-old’s final 48 hours before death. It’s sad, touching, and undoubtedly the most human I’ve felt after watching any short from this year’s programs. It has the makings of a feature-length film but is genuinely boggled down by its length time, which is a shame but also an impressive feat.
5. Pachyderm
Stéphanie Clément carefully creeps her audience into uneasiness, telling the tale of a 9-year-old girl, Louise, who spends 10 days with her grandparents and letting an older-voiced Louise reflect on the event. Fucked up, yeah, but it doesn’t just drop you into the deep end. The animation here is haunting, tranquil, beautiful, with clever framing that shows Louise imprisoned in a nightmare home with no clear escape route. Its storytelling is complex and deep, teetering back and forth between an internal battle with a monster and a familiar family member. You get it. It’s good.
4. Knight of Fortune
Filmmakers love killing women to tell stories, and in the case of Knight of Fortune, sometimes the woman is already dead. Here we have a short about a grieving man who’s unable to open the casket of his recently deceased wife, due to anxiety, fear, maybe the idea that if he doesn’t confirm her dead body she’s not actually dead. Considering most of the shorts this year have been absolutely humorless, Lasse Lyskjær Noer gives us a rare laugh with this one. It’s touching when it needs to be, and although I have nothing to compare this to, I’m sure it’s full of Scandinavian humor or something. Enjoyed it.
3. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
I thought I was over Wes Anderson after watching Asteroid City but it turns out he’s still not bad. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is a terrific Roald Dahl adaptation full of whimsy, incredible performances by Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, and Dev Patel, and so much expansive style it’s insane. How much this short triumphs over the others in the Live Action category is almost unfair.
2. Ninety-Five Senses
A meditation on the senses by a man who awaits execution for murder directed by Napolean Dynamite MFs Jerusha and Jared Hess. I cried. Just so incredible, so touching, so human, so enjoyable!
1. The Last Repair Shop
I watch shit like this and I’m like, man, maybe Los Angeles is the greatest city on earth. This was the most enjoyable, sweet, wonderful doc I’ve seen all (last) year, backed by a major Searchlight Pictures budget and L.A. Times storytelling. Just incredible, riveting, engaging, so cute. Ugh. Watch this today.
I’ve been sick all week so excuses on the lack of variety this week but you bet your ass I thought Madame Web was a good time.