Jamie Daily

Helium (2014) Review | Jamie Daily

Helium (2014)
86th Academy Awards
5/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award, which it won.
Won Best Live Action Short Subject (Anders Walter, Kim Magnusson).
Watched May 5, 2014.

 

I am not surprised that Helium won this year's Oscar.  It was cute, touching, well written, and used all twenty three minutes of running time very well.  The short film explores the power of imagination (no wonder it won, right?). 

 

Alfred (Pelle Falk Krusbæk) is a young boy who is dying.  A new hire at the hospital, the janitor Enzo (Casper Crump) takes a liking to the boy and in seeing his loss of hope and pessimism towards his fate and what happens after death, he creates an imaginary world called Helium that captures more than one heart.  Despite his failing health, Alfred's fear is eased and his mind opens up to find joy again.  

 

The length of the film was perfect.  There was not a minute wasted, and yet if it had been longer it would have lost all of its power.  There is little back story (what is Alfred dying of?  Where did Enzo work before this and why does he have so much compassion for this particular boy?), but its mysteries strengthen its ending.  

 

Everything came together to bring home the win for this short.  I definitely recommend it, although don't expect much humor.

 

Asad (2012) Review | Jamie Daily

Asad (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
2/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Live Action Short Film (Bryan Buckley, Mino Jarjoura).
Watched April 2, 2014.

 

I watched Asad right around the time that I watched Captain Phillips.  Both portray the current climate of Somalia and its violence both on the water in piracy and also on land between its own people.  

 

Asad is a short film that takes a different approach than the afore mentioned feature.  Asad is a young boy nearing manhood and anxious to go out on the boats and pirate with the other boys in his community.  He knows the ocean and its currents better than anyone.  Instead, the local fisherman who believes in living a different life is convinced that Asad will one day catch the best catch they have ever seen.  

 

Although the film is quite short, it conveys Asad's conflict, home life, and over all environment extremely well.  I got the measure of his character almost immediately.  In fact, it is very skillful how quickly we understand each character.  Granted, the writers did put in several easy to catch stereotypes that might define the soul of a person, such as Asad's friend with a limp is all talk but has little courage when it comes down to it.  My favorite moment of the film was between Asad and his mother, where she struggles against the pressures of a society she has known her whole life and tries to raise her son in a war torn environment.

 

The film tries to instill a hope, but it is bleak.  Asad will grow up to be a pirate, a thug with a gun, or a fisherman.  His future is already set.

 

The filmmaking is decent, the acting is sub-par, and the story is one note.  After watching Captain Phillips, I was looking forward to a more in depth look at Somali life, but Asad left a little to be desired.  Although it shows the harder side of life, the film becomes preoccupied with a mediocre plot that stalls the pace and progression of the film.  

 

All in all, I wouldn't consider the film a waste of my time, but I would not suggest it for the a-typical audience. 

 

Tuba Atlantic (2011)

Tuba Atlantic (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
5/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Live Action Short Film (Hallvar Witzo).
Watched October 31, 2012.

 

photo source: Time Entertainment

Out of all the short films I have seen so far from this year, this one is by far my favourite.  Humor, wit, and machine guns--what more can you ask for?

 

In a short film, you have to get to the point pretty quickly--something that Oskar (Edvard Hægstad) and his doctor (Terje Ranes) seem to understand.  Oskar has precisely six days to live.  "Would you like to die at the hospital or at home?" the doctor asks.  Being a stubborn old man stuck in his Norwegian old ways, he refuses all help and returns home where he counts out his last days on the calendar.  

 

The next morning, his appointed "death angel" shows up--a young girl who is trying to earn her wings by helping the dying cope with their untimely demise.  Oskar, however, is not someone she had bargained for.  He seamlessly processes through her stages of dying--denial and anger being the first two--but what she didn't expect was his extracurricular activities.  

 

He is waging a war against the seagulls.  Yes, seagulls.  With machine guns, explosives, and even his own two feet.  Although his promise of death has not dulled his hate for the birds, it has softened his heart toward his brother, to whom he hasn't spoken in a good thirty years.

 

If you aren't a fan of short films, you will be a fan of this one.  If you are a fan of short films, you will be a fan of this one.  It is perfection, although once I tell you that it features a giant electric tuba built to reach all the way across the Atlantic you might not trust my judgment any more.  The acting is spot on, the timing of the humor is perfect, and despite the possibility of animal activists being incredibly put off by Oskar's pastime hobbies, I hope that they can see the humor in the completely absurd old man.

 

The ending has just enough cheese with the continued pattern of perfect timing that the 25-minute short is rounded out nicely, with all loose ends tied and fewer seagulls soaring the skies.  If you have never listened to any of my suggestions before, you should definitely start now by watching Tuba Atlantic. 

 

 

Sources: Time Entertainment, IMDB, 411mania, Opinionless, Paste Magazine, Smells Like Screen Spirit, The Independent Critic

The Shore (2011)

The Shore (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
1/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award, which it won.
Won Best Live Action Short (Terry George, Oorlargh George).
Watched October 19, 2012.

photo source: Album Art 

 

Unlike many of the critics, and the Academy itself, I was not such a fan of The Shore, particularly after seeing Raju last week.  The imagery of the film is absolutely breathtaking, but the script and acting were fairly lacking in comparison.  

 

Joe (Ciarán Hinds) has been living in the States for the last twenty-five years and has not been back to Ireland since "the trouble."  He finally brings his grown daughter back with him after his wife passes away.  Everyone is incredibly pleased to see him, but it is soon revealed that his daughter Patricia (Kerry Condon) doesn't know much about her father's past, like the fact that he was in a band, or that he hasn't spoken to his best friend since he moved away.  

 

The story with Joe and his daughter is so slow moving and dialogue driven that it throws off the pace of the entire short.  Condon's acting doesn't help the situation.  Joe tells the whole story of how he lost his best friend, Paddy, and how his secret ex-fiancé is now married to his ex-best friend.  Patricia then convinces him that he should visit Paddy and set things right.

 

My favourite aspect of the film (I prove that I am a huge romantic, yet again) was the relationship between Paddy (Conleth Hill) and his wife Mary (Maggie Cronin).  There is no doubt that they have an amazing amount of passion in their marriage.  Their chemistry is out of this world, which in turn casts a blinding light on the lack of chemistry between Hinds and Condon.  

 

The Shore is a half-hearted comedy and a half-hearted drama--it never successfully scores in either direction.  The timing is off, most of the characters have little depth, and the lines are so transparent, it's a wonder the actors could pull anything remotely Oscar worthy out of Terry George's winning piece.  

 

If your opinions tend to be more in line with the Academy when it comes to shorts, or if you would like to catch a glimpse of Ireland's beauty (which is expertly captured, might I add), then by all means you should search out this film.  Otherwise, I would not recommend it.  

 

Sources: Album Art, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, 411mania, Opinionless, Paste Magazine, Reeling Reviews, Smells Like Screen Spirit, The Independent Critic

Raju (2011)

Raju (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
5/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Live Action Short Film (Max Zähle, Stefan Gieren).
Watched October 10, 2012.

 

photo source: Persistence of Vision

Line up Raju with last week's Pentecost and realize that there is no comparison.  Although they are incredibly different from one another, Raju packs a punch with its entire package.  A twenty-four minute short that felt half as long, it is both deep and action-packed.

 

Jan Fischer (Wotan Wilke Möhring) and his wife Sarah (Julia Richter) have traveled all the way from Germany to a reputable orphanage in India to adopt a little boy named Raju (Krish Gupta).  He is a precious four year old with big eyes and ears who constantly speaks in untranslated Indian gibberish.  The day after they pick him up from the orphanage, Sarah wakes up sick, so Jan and Raju go out exploring together.  Immediately they have an adorable connection, helped by Raju's fearless display of affection.  Jan is taken with the boy.  While they are near the end of their day, they stop at a market and while buying food, they notice a flock of kites flying over the buildings.  Jan inevitably takes his eyes off of Raju for two seconds, and when he looks back, the little boy is gone.

 

Raju is certainly more action packed than your typical Oscar nominee, using editing and music techniques more common to a Bond film.  Because it is a short, it gets you onto the edge of your seat pretty quickly and keeps you there for most of the film.  Imagine the absolute terror of losing your child in a foreign country, only to find out that it's much bigger than simply a lost boy.  

 

Everything considered, Raju is probably my favourite short I've seen so far.  It wasn't necessarily the most original plot or the most thought-provoking script, but its execution was fairly flawless.  If you're looking for a short to accompany your Friday night movie this week, I would highly recommend this Max Zahle creation.

Raju from Ourense Film Festival on Vimeo.

 Sources: IMDB, 411mania, Opinionless, Paste Magazine, Smells Like Screen Spirit, The Independent Critic,  Persistence of Vision

Pentecost (2011)

Pentecost (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
2/5 Stars
Nominated for Best Live Action Short Film (Peter McDonald, Eimear O'Kane).
Watched October 1, 2012.

 

photo source: Beyond Hollywood

Our first live action short on this blog is an Irish favourite, but a flop in my eyes.  The eleven-minute film was too long (seems impossible, I know), and its parallels were so incredibly obvious that I lost interest much sooner than anticipated.

 

I wanted to like Pentecost so badly, but couldn't.  The humor needed better timing and the ending needed work, but the acting and cinematography were very well done.  It is the story of a young altar boy named Damien (Scott Graham), who "accidentally" almost hits the priest with an incense burner.  Furious, his father grounds him and tells him he cannot watch any more soccer.  Damien emphatically opposes his father's punishment because it is his favourite team's first time in the European Cup Final.  

 

Luck, it seems, is shining down on him, when there is an emergency and Damien must once again be the altar boy.  Cue the long, drawn-out humor and obvious parallels between the church and shorts.  The priest gives a pep talk to a row of altar boys for over three minutes, which in an eleven-minute film is excessive.  

 

It is cute and deserving of a few laughs.  As it is a short, I would encourage you to see it if you have an interest in Ireland, the church, or European soccer, but otherwise you might want to find something else to do with your eleven minutes.

 

Sources: Beyond Hollywood, IMDB, Travis Pflanz, 411mania, Opinionless, Paste Magazine, Reeling Reviews, Smells Likes Teen Spirit,