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Feb. 27th, 2007 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cwfilmbuff13. The 2006 Academy Award Nominated Live-Action Short Films
The five films that were up for Best Live-Action Short. Added up they were long enough not to require any padding by short-listed titles, so it’s just these five.
The Saviour
I expected a movie about a Mormon missionary having an affair with a married woman to be funnier than this one was, but it was still a good film. Did a very interesting job of having people learn moral lessons and find faith in unexpected but natural (i.e. not forced) ways.
Helmer & Søn
Work-obssesed son is called in when his father locks himself in a closet. Hilarity and personal growth ensue. Not bad, but not great either; a couple good laughs but for the most part predictable and trite.
Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)
A woman leaves her slovenly husband and son, so they get her mother to move in with them. Good dry humor throughout, but it’s the ending that really makes this one work.
Binta and the Great Idea
This would have been my pick for the Oscar. Wonderful story about a small village in Africa that manages to touch on issues of sexism, adapting to cultural change, the effects of technology, differences between “civilized” and “developing” nations, and the trend of Westerners “saving” African or Asian babies by adopting them - all without being the least bit preachy and keeping the audience entertained. Some of the acting is uneven, but not enough to diminish the enjoyment of the movie. It ended up being 30 solid minutes of happiness for me - one of those movies that just leaves a smile on your face.
West Bank Story
For a musical spoof it was entertaining, even if everything was done in a heavy-handed way. It delivers everything you would expect from a West Side Story parody about dueling falafel stands owned by Israelis and Palestinians.
On a side note, As the first film was starting about half a dozes pre-teen girls came in and sat down behind me, or at least I thought they were all around twelve years old, considering how they reacted to nudity (”ewwww”) and their apparent unfamiliarity with one of the more famous movie musicals around (”hey, they just ripped off Romeo and Juliet, no wonder it won”). Sadly as I got up to leave I saw they were all at least in their 30s - a fact that made my head hurt.
The five films that were up for Best Live-Action Short. Added up they were long enough not to require any padding by short-listed titles, so it’s just these five.
The Saviour
I expected a movie about a Mormon missionary having an affair with a married woman to be funnier than this one was, but it was still a good film. Did a very interesting job of having people learn moral lessons and find faith in unexpected but natural (i.e. not forced) ways.
Helmer & Søn
Work-obssesed son is called in when his father locks himself in a closet. Hilarity and personal growth ensue. Not bad, but not great either; a couple good laughs but for the most part predictable and trite.
Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)
A woman leaves her slovenly husband and son, so they get her mother to move in with them. Good dry humor throughout, but it’s the ending that really makes this one work.
Binta and the Great Idea
This would have been my pick for the Oscar. Wonderful story about a small village in Africa that manages to touch on issues of sexism, adapting to cultural change, the effects of technology, differences between “civilized” and “developing” nations, and the trend of Westerners “saving” African or Asian babies by adopting them - all without being the least bit preachy and keeping the audience entertained. Some of the acting is uneven, but not enough to diminish the enjoyment of the movie. It ended up being 30 solid minutes of happiness for me - one of those movies that just leaves a smile on your face.
West Bank Story
For a musical spoof it was entertaining, even if everything was done in a heavy-handed way. It delivers everything you would expect from a West Side Story parody about dueling falafel stands owned by Israelis and Palestinians.
On a side note, As the first film was starting about half a dozes pre-teen girls came in and sat down behind me, or at least I thought they were all around twelve years old, considering how they reacted to nudity (”ewwww”) and their apparent unfamiliarity with one of the more famous movie musicals around (”hey, they just ripped off Romeo and Juliet, no wonder it won”). Sadly as I got up to leave I saw they were all at least in their 30s - a fact that made my head hurt.
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Date: 2007-02-28 07:35 am (UTC)I was truely supprised when it didnt win.
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Date: 2007-02-28 03:36 pm (UTC)Although ignorant, technically they were right... it is a "rip-off" of Shakespeare, (though I'm betting they were thinking Leo DiCaprio)
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Date: 2007-02-28 07:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 08:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 11:15 pm (UTC)But I enjoyed West Bank Story a lot. Short & funny.