I think this is the fourth or fifth year that my friend and I have gone to see the Animated and Live Action Shorts in Uptown, making it an all day event. It's fun to see everything at once and discuss it afterwards, usually with food in my mouth. It also always seems to be one of the coldest days of the year, and this was no exception. However, it's all good once we get inside.
2/10/18 Shorts Day
We started with the Animated Shorts.
Dear Basketball is retired Los Angeles Lake and NBA star Kobe Bryant's love letter to basketball. It was a black and white film, almost like a pencil style. Kobe narrates the retirement letter that he wrote back in 2015 after he decided to leave the game that meant so much to him. I suppose almost any pro athlete could write a letter like this, acknowledging his dreams as a young child to play professional basketball and to hear the cheers of the fans; making the game winning shot; essentially, doing what he loves as a kid as an adult. It's very sweet (I did not see the letter when it was first published and I don't know anything about the reaction received there). I think it's a wonderful ode to basketball and to Kobe's incredible career (even if you didn't like him that much). It was directed by longtime animator Glen Keane (son of Bil Keane, creator of the daily comic "Family Circus"). It was good, but I don't know if it will win the Oscar.
Negative Space is a bittersweet look at the relationship between a young son and his father who is always traveling for work. The son remembers the packing tips his father shared with him and carries that with him into adulthood - don't waste space, how best to fill every nook and cranny. I would say it had a "Cat's in the Cradle" theme, except there really isn't any indication his father realized that his son missed him. It has a pretty serious tone, and then it gets a little awkward when the father passes away and the son sees him in the coffin and notices how much unused space is in the coffin.
Garden Party features different varieties of amphibians enjoying their surroundings in a back garden, complete with pool, garden furniture and a few surprises. The animation was really incredible and I liked the Animal Planet/National Geographic vibe; a voiceover from David Attenborough would have the cherry on top. There is a bit of a surprise, which caused the audience to issue a collective groan (which was funny). I think this deserves the win.
Lou is the entry from perennial powerhouse (now a combined powerhouse) Pixar/Disney. Sigh. It's fine, it's cute, it has a nice little message at the end. Lou are the letters that show/are prominent on the 'lost and found' box at a playground. The toys come to life and make their way back to the rightful owners, until a bully comes along and takes them back. The toys get their own revenge on the little boy, and teach him a lesson. Great. But nothing new here, not Oscar-worthy at least.
Revolting Rhymes is based on a book by Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach) that takes some familiar fairy tales and adds some disturbing twists (disturbing in a funny kind of way). The Big Bad Wolf from "Little Red Riding Hood" features as our narrator and provocateur, as he relays stories about Snow White, gambling addicted dwarves, a bank run by a corrupt pig, etc. It reminded me of "Fractured Fairy Tales" from my youth, but a little more sophisticated.
I asked my friend to share some of her thoughts: Animated Shorts – I was not truly impressed with the selection this year. There was nothing thought provoking or what I would even consider a wow factor. I was a bit disappointed to tell the truth. Garden Party had lovely animation,
but that is about as excited as I got watching them. Lou will probably win as it is from the Mega Million Studio.
After a delicious lunch at Stella's we wandered back for an afternoon of Live Action shorts. All of the films, except for The Eleven O'clock, the films were based on actual events, and I don't recall that being the case in the past years (or at least not so many).
DeKalb Elementary is based on an averted school shooting at an Atlanta elementary school. A stranger walks into the office at DeKalb Elementary school and starts to act strange; his behavior sets off alarms, and the teachers and staff go into lock down mode, except for one woman. She starts talking to him, very calmly, with a lot of empathy, and he starts to have second thoughts about going through with the shooting. The 'invader' says he wants to turn himself in, but is afraid he is going to be shot, and he references medications that he stopped taking. It was really powerful to watch this woman talk to the young man, trying to keep him calm, and reassure him that someone cares about him. Given that we hear about a school shooting all too often these days, I was not sure how this was going to go. It also addressed the role of mental health in the discussion.
My Nephew Emmett recounts the events leading up to the kidnapping and brutal murder of Emmett Till. Emmett was staying with his uncle Mose Wright and his wife and kids down in Money, Mississippi in 1955. I don't know what the impetus was for using this aspect of events for a film, except perhaps it was a way to give Mose (or his character) an opportunity to explain what happened, because he had a lot of guilt about what happened (from what I have read elsewhere) because Emmett was in his care. Mose Wright testified at the trial against the accused murderers, and he did so at great risk to himself and his family. I appreciated this perspective, but I wonder how many viewers didn't know about this case or the impact it had on the Civil Rights movement. Perhaps it prompted them to do their own research. While I think the topic is important in our country's history, and the film was well done, I feel like there could have been more. However, it was directed and produced by a graduate student, so it's very possible further development was limited by financial challenges.
The Silent Child is a British entry, starring Rachel Shenton as Joanne, a social worker/sign language teacher who is brought into a mildly dysfunctional and very distracted family to help young Libby get prepared for school. It takes a little while, but Joanne is undeterred by Libby and her family's initial disinterest, although they're disinterested for different reasons, and she breaks through to Libby. Joanne believes sign language is the best way to integrate Libby into the world and facilitate better communication with her family; her mother, in particular, is resistant to learning and thinks they should stick with lip reading. There seem to be some underlying reasons that are not clear to Joanne why the family seems to exclude Libby. The ending is heartbreaking (sorry for the spoiler), and there are some statistics and information scrolling across the screen at the end, pleading for better integration of hearing impaired people and a for schools to provide sign language instructors/translators for students. Rachel Shenton actually is qualified as an interpreter, and became interested in sign language when her father lost his hearing and the young girl who portrayed Libby was deaf. This was one of my favorites.
The Eleven O'Clock was the only film that was not based on real events (well, that we know of). I would say this was a cinematic version of three card monty. A patient comes in to see his psychiatrist... Or does he? Who's the doctor? Who's the patient? Who's the receptionist? Even though I thought I knew what was happening, there was a part of me that thought, well, maybe, they're going to trick me. You kind of have to watch it to really get the absurdity of it. It was well done, and I think we both appreciated the levity after some heavy films. It might win because it is the only 'fictional' film.
Watu Wote/All of Us is a German film, but is based on the real events of an attack on a bus carrying Muslims and Christians in Kenya by the terrorist group Al-Shabaab. Jua is a young Christian woman who is traveling home to visit her family; she is leery of the Muslims around her. We learn why later. As the bus makes its way through Kenya and some very dangerous territory, there's an ambush. What happened next shows the best of humanity in the face of worst of it. The Muslim passengers were asked to turn over the Christian passengers, to certain death. The Muslim passengers refused; lecturing Al-Shabaab on what Islam really is, denying them their demands at the risk of their own deaths. They faced down their attackers. I hope this wins, because I am optimistic enough to think this could make a difference in some people's prejudices, and bring people together.
Thoughts from my movie companion:
Live Action Shorts – I thought all were done well, but I think that The Silent Child moved me the most. Maybe because I am a Mom, or maybe just because I am a caring human being.
All of the movies had a point to make and they did a good job making it, with the exception of The Eleven O’Clock which was just a good bit of fun.
I do not think that there was one that was a huge standout to be the winner.
Here's to a great day at the movies with a pal.
