Usually the dullest points during the
Academy Awards telecasts occur when the presenters dole out Oscars for films the
general public hasn’t seen and will probably never see: i.e., the shorts.
That’s why this program, called the 2004
Oscar Shorts, is such a rare treat.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The
program contains three of the five 2003 nominees for Best Live-Action Short
Film, two of the five for Best Animated Short Film, as well as a bonus: the
gold-medal winner at the Student Academy Awards from the Rochester Institute of
Technology.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The
program kicks off with Florian Baxmeyer’s The
Red Jacket, from Germany, which follows a coat that has been abandoned by a
grieving father. The Bayern Munich jacket makes its way to Sarajevo, where a
young soccer fan “liberates” it from an airlifted aid package, and it looks as
though the bad luck associated with the garment has not yet run out. This film
seems depressing, but has a slightly-hard-to-swallow payoff.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Geoffrey
Rush narrates the only actual Oscar winner in the batch, Australia’s Harvie Crumpet, Adam Elliot’s sweet
claymation look at the life of a man with Tourette’s. His existence is
predicated upon a collection of “fakts” that are helpfully interspersed
throughout the film. We learn, among other things, that, “The average person
uses 19 miles of dental floss in their lifetime” and that “The trouble with
nude dancing is that not everything stops when the music does.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Also
set in Sarajevo is [A] Torsion, a
film from Slovenia by Stefan Arsenijevic whose title refers to the malady that
has befallen a cow trying to give birth amidst the shelling. A quick-thinking
veterinarian enlists the help of a frightened choir to distract the cow from
the din of the explosions with their gorgeous voices.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Canada’s
Nibbles is an animated documentary
(aka “documation”) about a fishing trip. Chris Hinton’s crudely drawn but
hilarious piece focuses on three men and their unwitting experience with the
food chain — the endless roadside stands (tacos, souvlaki, donuts, gum), the
hungry fish, and the ever-present mosquitoes.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย A
friendly racquetball match quickly devolves into a nasty game of one-upmanship
between an employee and his superior in the insanely accomplished Squash — which works as a noun or a
verb here. French writer-director Lionel Bailliu sets his piece entirely on the
court and leaves you squirming as the mental abuse and power plays between the
competitors reach new levels. I absolutely cannot wait to see what this guy
does next.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Finally,
Perpetual Motion, a clever little
short from RIT that boasts award-winning animation, takes the notion that cats
always land on their feet, marries it to the fact that toast with jelly
inevitably hits the floor sticky side down, and then proposes a way to harness
this awesome power for the good of mankind. It’s nice to know someone’s looking
out for us.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 2004
Oscar Shorts screens for one week at the Little Theatre, beginning on Friday,
May 14.
This article appears in May 12-18, 2004.
