Oscar Nominated Short Films-Live Action

The museum theatre in my town every year screens the nominated short live action and animated films the weekend of the Oscars. This year was no exception, and I was able to a catch the Live Action nominees this evening. All the films this year were foreign, and all but one was subtitled into English. I’ll review them in the order they were shown.

Auf Der Strecke (On the Line). A bleak film set in Germany (what German films aren’t bleak), On the Line tells the story of a store security guard that witnesses a man accosted by some local youths on the subway and leaves the train rather than interfere. Later, he learns that the man was found murdered and that the dead man was the brother of a femal co-worker. The result is effectively claustrophobic, but there’s nothing new in the examination of guilt and the attempt of the living to make up for something that can’t be undone. Rating: B.


New Boy. This Irish film tells the story of an African boy’s first day in his new school in Ireland. Through backflashes we learn that he witnessed the death of his teacher father at the hands of political rebels. I saw this film earlier this year at a short film festival. It has subsequently been re-edited and tightened up quite a bit and the acting by the children is great. That said, there are huge logical gaps (like how a poor southern African boy comes to live in Ireland), and the ultimate point of the story is illusive. B-.

Toyland. The requisite German film dealing with the Holocaust, this vignette tells the story of two famiies, one Jewish, one not, with same-age sons that promise to never leave each other. The German mother wrestles with nightmares of her son being taken by mistake when the SS come for their neighbors. These dreams are mixed with real events, leaving the audience unsure if they’re watching reality or imaginary. An interesting film, but ultimately a pipedream from a people still wrestling with their silent complicity in the near annihilation of a people. B.

The Pig. A great short film showing the complexity of calling for tolerance within clashing cultures through the story of an old man’s stay in a hospital for surgery “in his butt.” When he moves into his hospital room a picture of a smiling pig as it dashes off a diving board arrests his attention, eventually leading him to conclude that the pig is his guardian angel. However, when an Islamic man moves into his room, he awakens to find the pig removed for religious reasons, setting up conflicting demands for tolerance. Very funny and not even a little bit preachy. Great. A.

Manon on the Asphalt. My favorite of the evening and my hope to take the statue, (which I’m sure will go to Toyland, along with The Reader, so we can have a Nazi sweep) it is funny, poignant and life affirming. Manon is a twenty-something female artist who is struck by a car while riding her bike to meet her boyfriend. What follows is her musings on how the information about her death will disseminate to her close friends, family, and, ultimately, her boyfriend. 15 minutes of heaven. I enjoyed nothing in the theatre more this year. A.