Tropic
Sprockets by Ian Brockway
The
Oscar Shorts: Live Action
This
year's pool of Live Action shorts are all interesting but few are as quirky as
the on-screen host, Luke Matheny, who won last year with his Jim Jarmuschian
entry, "God of Love".
Matheny's self-deprecating manner provides the perfect smoothness as he takes
us on a tour through the short films, which makes a nimble Prismacolor safari
through many diverse cultures.
First,
from Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele of Belgium, there is the Sci-Fi entry
"Death of A Shadow". Granted, the film's logic circuits are a bit
over-loaded but it retains a provocative, anachronistic texture as a hybrid of
Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" and George Miller's "The Road
Warrior". Yes, we are in some sort of post-apocalyptic netherworld where
actual shadows cast at the moment of one's death are collected and hung on the
wall with the covetous envy of a rare Rothko. A Kafkaesque man slinks about
with a kind of shadow-collecting camera that looks like an old clock mixed with
a 1970s Polaroid. Our brooding hero is overwhelmed by the remembrances of
firing-squads past and is ambivalent about whether to join his lost love, Sarah
or to stay a clerk at his post while staring at all things bronze. Although my
brain failed to grasp the poignance of the plot,(our man in the grey shadowy
suit confusingly switches back and forth between the corporeal world and back
again)it is the visual style that held my interest. Here is a world driven by
the last remaining posture that is held in death. And just what is symbolized
in all the bronze and gold colors and gyrating machines. For all the opulence
that has gone into this terminal Taj Mahal, it is a very grim palace indeed.
The
ghosts of memory also play a strong role in Canada's "Henry",
directed by Yan England. The story focuses on a romantic pianist who
desperately tries to hold on to the people he loves while in the throes of
Alzheimer's. While the film is a bit somber, it has an eerie and haunting tone
that recalls the iconic Twilight Zone serials together with a strong blend of
"A Christmas Carol" and Billy Wilder's noir classic "The Lost
Weekend".
A
standout in the selection is Shawn Christensen's "Curfew" (USA) which
scores just the right balance of dark comedy and compassion. It tells the story
of Reggie, an emotionally challenged man who gets an unexpected call to visit
his self-centered niece. The color red is never so frightening here or as
funny, while the film's spirit will sneak up and hold you long after the next
short.
Then
we are in Afghanistan with "Bazkhashi Boys" directed by Sam French.
This film which recalls "The Kite Runner" in theme and tone, tells
the story of two childhood friends who yearn to escape Kabul's confining mountains and become (at
least to them) romantic heroes engaged in the sport of Bazkhashi, specifically
a kind of relay game on a horse in which a goat is dragged to its death. No
laughing matter, if you happen to have hooves. Okay. The film is a heartfelt
character study of the bonds of friendship. That's all well and good, but I
found the rhythm of the camera a bit lethargic. For a twenty-eight minute film,
it spends a great deal of time in a blacksmith's shack with longing, pensive
and wistful looks in the camera. This makes the outing in Kabul appear longer
and more interminable than it actually is and with an invariably gray palate, I
felt too steeped in Kabul's conundrum.
Also,
I could not get past the goats.
The
group concludes on a high note however, with the wonderfully vivid and
ever-shifting "Asad" directed by Brian Buckley. This South African /
American entry has a refreshing irreverence that entertains as much as informs,
and it will terrify and delight you all in one jolt. The film illustrates that
the world, while festive and motley, does have teeth that hurt and that all
creatures have the capacity for base desire. "Asad" is a rollicking half-moon
crescent of a story, betraying the savage underbelly of "The Life of
Pi" with more than a bit of Carl Haaisen thrown in the Somali coastal
waters.
Overall,
the live action films make for an eclectic and satisfying mix befitting any
optical sojourn or tri-color tryst that you might crave this Oscar season.
Write
Ian at redtv_2005@yahoo.com
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