Watching five films in a row may not be a typical choice for the every-day theater-goer, especially when they are all going for Oscar-worthy emotional impact. But while this year鈥檚 selection of Academy Award-nominated live action shorts was certainly grave, the collection is worth the watch.
For the past two weeks, Providence's Avon Cinema has been screening the Oscar short film contenders, featuring entries from Denmark to Quebec, that offer insightful vignettes of contemporary cinema.
鈥楾he After鈥�
Immediately establishing the collection鈥檚 tragic tone was Misan Harriman鈥檚 鈥淭he After.鈥� The film didn鈥檛 shy away from extremes, at one moment depicting the death of the protagonist鈥檚 entire family, then documenting his subsequent downward spiral in his personal, social and work life 鈥� definitely not a light-hearted start. While Hariman鈥檚 film achieved a vigorous portrayal of grief鈥檚 unbearable struggles and ended with a motivational message of self recovery, its storyline felt hyperbolically dramatic, detracting from its sincerity. Oftentimes, the film came across as mawkish rather than moving. Sometimes, with such limited screen time, less is more.
Audience member Dorrit Corwin 鈥�24 found the film 鈥渟hockingly bad.鈥�
鈥楻ed, White and Blue鈥�
But the collection's second contender, 鈥淩ed, White and Blue,鈥� was incredibly touching. After allowing the audience less than a minute to process the intensity of 鈥淭he After,鈥� the Avon screened Nazrin Choudhury鈥檚 powerful social critique on poverty and abortion in the United States. The short skillfully succeeded in being both political and personal, didactically portraying the difficulties of a working class single mother and the levels of mountain-moving required to get an abortion in the South, especially now. Choudhury also had the whole theater gasping at an appalling twist that made the film鈥檚 feminist commentary even more poignant. 鈥淩ed, White and Blue鈥� ended with a beautifully empowering tone, stressing the power of female solidarity and the contagiousness of compassion as we are shown how far one gesture of kindness can travel.
鈥楰night of Fortune鈥�
Some humor was finally introduced into the line-up by Lasse Lyskj忙r Noer鈥檚 short 鈥淜night of Fortune.鈥� Despite being set in a morgue, the film still managed to be the most lighthearted of the first three. With its creative storyline and phenomenal acting, the Danish short was delicately comedic and harrowing. Noer鈥檚 portrayal of multiple strangers coming together while visiting their dead loved ones left the audience touched by the unifying power of grief.
鈥业苍惫颈苍肠颈产濒别鈥�
The screening鈥檚 fourth film, 鈥淚nvincible,鈥� followed the last 48 hours of teenager Marc鈥檚 life as he navigates the world in and out of juvenile detention. Told in a clever cyclical style, the film provided a striking commentary on freedom, punishment and resistance as Marc narrates his feelings of 鈥渟wimming against the current鈥� and 鈥渟creaming in a world that doesn鈥檛 listen.鈥�
The French Canadian short was an audience favorite. It was 鈥渏ust a really beautiful, personal story,鈥� said Brown student Asa Turok 鈥�24, who came to watch the shorts for Visual Arts Associate Professor Ramell Ross鈥檚 class 鈥淰ISA 1900: Other Lives of Time.鈥� He added that Ross was himself in 2019.
Coco Kanders 鈥�27, another Brown student, agreed that the film was 鈥渞eally emotive and intimate. It had literally everyone sobbing,鈥� she said.
鈥楾he Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar鈥�
Lastly, Wes Anderson swooped in with 鈥淭he Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,鈥� providing some light-hearted relief after two hours of relentless polemical tragedies. This fun adaptation of Roald Dahl鈥檚 short story chronicled the life of wealthy aristocrat Henry Sugar on a quest to 鈥渟ee without his eyes.鈥� It was playfully distinctive, with theatrical sets, Anderson鈥檚 typical bright aesthetic and repeated fourth-wall-breaking as every line was narrated in the third person.
Corwin said that it was 鈥渉er favorite鈥� and that the director鈥檚 鈥渟tyle is actually better suited to a short film,鈥� as it was less overwhelming than watching a feature of his. 鈥淚t felt like the perfect story within a story 鈥� in a condensed way, that I liked.鈥�
Kanders agreed with Anderson鈥檚 being her favorite film of the night. It was 鈥渁s though I鈥檇 just watched a short story,鈥� she said.
With its unrealistic and quirky mood, the film was by far the most enjoyable watch, but placed in comparison with the four other heavy entries, the short lacked profundity.
With the Oscars scheduled for Sunday, March 10, judges will have to choose between comedy and social critique in deciding which short deserves the award.
Rose Farman-Farma is a Freshman Comparative Literature concentrator from England who loves writing and music.
