I have mentioned before how much I enjoy these collections of short films that have been nominated for the Oscar. Until recently we have heard of these films during the ceremony, but they have not been available for the general audience. And I ma glad that has changed.
The 2006 Academy Award Short Films Collection includes all of the live action film as well as the animated ones (the Extras has some of the animated collection). The films are from all over the world and are imaginative and often quite funny.
The winner of the live action film was the uproarious West Bank Story. A take off on musicals in general and West Side Story in particular, this film pits the owners and workers of two fast food restaurants, the Kosher King run by Israelis, and the Hummus Hut, run by Palestinians, against each other. But Fatima and David fall in love. It is laugh out loud funny...the songs and the music are perfect (I loved the fiddler on the roof of the Kosher King), and the whole story is subversive and if it was not so funny, could be offensive.
My other favorite was "eramos pocos" from Spain. A very surprising story wonderfully acted. All the live action films were good, one from Norway-Canada, one from Australia and one from Senegal (made in conjunction with UNICEF).
The animated features are always interesting, though I did not like the Oscar winner, A Danish Poet as much as A Gentleman's Duel, The Guidedog (which is just funny) and One Rat Short. But I enjoyed getting to watch every one.
I highly recommend all the collections of Oscar nominated short films that are out there. I only have last years collection to catch up on. The offer an aspect of film-making that does not always get the acclaim and the recognition it deserves.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment