In a brief pause between two snowstorms here in the half-buried Boston area, I managed to make it out to a theater that was screening the five Oscar-nominated documentary shorts. It is gratifying to see that more moviehouses (esp. in big cities or college towns) are showing nominee packages in the Academy’s three short-film categories, the others being for Animation and Live Action. Seeing them up on the big screen for full impact fives filmgoers a chance to experience (and maybe develop a rooting interest for) the work of dedicated and talented artists whose Oscar night notoriety is fleeting and too often forgotten.
Joanna—Directed by Aneta Kopacz
This looked like the front-runner to me. Joanna Salyga was a thirtysomething mother of a young son who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer when this poignant parting-note of a film was made. Joanna (the woman and the film) is stoical and philosophical, avoiding the two extremes of resignation and 10K-walk bravado. It is beautifully photographed with a feature-film quality to it. The contemplative tone, completely free of any pretension, will be familiar to anyone who followed Salyga’s blog posts.
Also from Poland, and with a similar scenario, is “Our Curse” (directed by Tmasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki) except this time it’s an infant son with a rare breathing disorder, and the overwhelmed parents trying to make sense of it. As you can see, the documentary field is often a tough road to hoe.
Aside from “Joanna” the next most likely winner in this category is probably the HBO-produced “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” (directed by Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry). Saying “we support our veterans” or “thank you for your service” is the easy part when it comes to those Americans who were embroiled in the far-flung wars of recent decades. The hard part is following up on returning combat veterans when so many have been traumatized by their experience. This 46-second trailer will give you a pretty good idea of the noble work done by those manning a suicide-prevention hotline in upstate New York. First-rate stuff.
“White Earth”-Directed by J. Christian Jensen
The shortest of these films at a quick 20 minutes, the often-heartless economic system of 21st century America is more-or-less examined via the transient (and bleak) “boomtown” of the title, an oil-drilling hamlet in North Dakota. But seeing that only the workers’ kids (and one spouse) are interviewed you feel this could have dug a little deeper, no pun intended.
“The Reaper” (La Parka)-directed by Gabriel Serra Arguello
Vegetarians should steer clear of this stark profile of a Mexican slaughterhouse. Many meat-eaters will likely avert their eyes as well, but I found the medieval-level machinery rather fascinating (and artfully photographed). The quiet and thoughtful worker who’s given the sinister nickname of the title is a good family man who nevertheless seems a little spooked when he gets home from work. An admirable piece, though I doubt I would watch it again.
I fully expect all the above filmmakers to be respectfully interviewed on the red carpet come the Big Night. Yeah, right.
Reel and Rock 