This post was written by Hatchet reporter Christopher Saccardo.
Despite their lack of fame in the U.S., the live-action shorts are one of the best parts of the Oscars. This year five flicks from five different countries vie for the title, but one is a clear winner.
If you’re still interested in attending a screening, all five shorts are running at E Street Cinema nightly for a normal student ticket price ($9.50), or you can head over to The National Archives on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. for a free, commercial-free screening, where the run time is just over an hour total.
Editor’s note: Some summaries may contain spoilers.
“The Voorman Problem”
Country: United Kingdom
Directors: Mark Gill and Baldwin Li
4 stars out of 5
Fueled by quirk and wit, “The Voorman Problem” tells the story of a psychiatrist who is hired to asses a prisoner who claims to be God. After claiming he can wipe Belgium off the map, the doctor goes home, and sees it is no longer in his atlas.
There was never a dull moment – the absurdity and humor in finding a sea where Belgium once was in the map left the audience cracking up. Nonetheless, it wasn’t anything particularly memorable. The film ends with another trick. Only this time, the psychiatrist finds himself screaming in a straightjacket as the prisoner says goodbye in a full suit. Though the prisoner and psychiatrist swapping places was funny, this did not serve as a satisfying ending.
“Avant Que De Tout Perdre” (“Just before Losing Everything”)
Country: France
Directors: Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras
3 stars out of 5
When a film starts with a somber boy walking late to class because he has to buy cigarettes for his parents, you know from the start it is not going to be cheerful. When the boy’s mother tries to leave town from an abusive husband with the boy and his sister, the husband catches them and engage in a quick cat and mouse chase. After hiding behind a car, profusely sweating, he eventually gives up, leaving the mother and her children to escape safely.
Pained by a slow start, the film could do without the first half of build-up. Though thrilling during the chase, the excitement only lasts for a short period as the viewer only learns about the husband half-way through. Establishing the danger early, rather than leaving the audience confused would have been helpful.
“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)”
Country: Finland
Directors: Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
4 stars out of 5
Everyone knows that chaotic family with the cluttered kitchen. “Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)” is a hilarious walkthrough of a family’s frantic wake-up routine in preparation for a wedding. After waking up late, forgetting the dresses in the washer and losing the gifts, the family leaves with a potted plant as their present, stained clothing and the children clad in Halloween costumes. Upon arrival, they walk into a funeral and realize the wedding is next week.
As the shortest film (only 7 minutes), it manages to convey the hectic lifestyle with ease. It thrives on the particular events like the wife angrily walking into the bathroom to find the husband fine-tuning his beard, only to become angrier. Also being so light-hearted it serves the perfect contrast to the overall tone of the other shorts.
“Helium”
Country: Denmark
Directors: Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
3 stars out of 5
“Helium” opens in a hospital room with a terminally-ill child looking around. After developing a relationship with the custodian, he learns the place he’s in is called ‘Helium,’ the destination following death. After being moved to a different room, the janitor defies security and finishes his story before the boy dies, leaving the boy to board the zeppelin for ‘Helium’ in the final scene.
This is the classic story of a sick individual that builds a relationship with an unlikely candidate. Though reserved at first, the janitor comes around and falls deeply invested in the child before he dies. Though it is cliché, it is successful in bringing a tear in your eye, especially after the child wakes up from his death to embark on his journey to ‘Helium.’
Hatchet’s choice: “Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)”
Country: Spain
Director: Esteban Crespo
4.5 stars out of 5
Easily the most compelling film of the night, “Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)” depicts the tale of a couple who traveled to Africa as doctors, only to be halted by an army of children soldiers, who sit the couple down before an older man enters and instructs them to shoot the husband.
Following rape and mass slaughter, the fast-pace thriller-drama concludes as the woman drives with the child who killed her spouse. At the end, the child, now grown up, is shown finishing a speech about his experience in the children’s army. In the audience the woman sits, tear-stained and clapping.
The film elicits a wide array of emotions, from resentment against children’s violence to anger against rape, fear for one’s life and finally, desperation as the two sit in the car, one wounded physically and the other emotionally.
