The filmmakers behind this year's batch of Oscar-nominated movies had no way of knowing for sure that Donald Trump would inexplicably be re-elected president but the policies of this regrettable chapter in American history still loom large over the nominees. “A Lien” follows Oscar and Sophia Gomez, an interracial married couple with a young daughter. Oscar is a Mexican immigrant, receiving his green card by marrying Sophia. The family rushes to the government office on the day of their interview. While they've done everything through official channels, Sofia is still deeply concerned by the heavy presence of ICE agents at the building. Shortly after the interview, agents grab Oscar and his daughter, an American citizen. Sofia rushes to try and save her daughter.
Every year, the Academy nominates another line-up of incredibly depressing movies in the live action shorts category. Knowing this too well, you'll have to excuse me that my main reaction to “A Lien” is that it's not more brutal than it ends up being. The fourteen minute long movie is still very upsetting. It's all too relevant to recent events, especially in light of President Trump's recent announcement that he intends on deporting even legal immigrants. “A Lien” shows a family broken up and divided by a crushing bureaucratic system that cares not at all for the humans caught in its path. It depicts a couple who have done everything the “right” way, going through all the official channels, and who are still punished for it. The cruelty of what happens – an immigrant arrested while at the green card office, something ICE actually does – has no justification, clearly an act of cruelty.
It's a bummer. As I have to do anytime I watch a movie like this, the question must be asked if “A Lien” actually has any point beyond showcasing human misery. The film certainly doesn't say much about America's racist immigration policies or the deviously underhanded tactics of ICE, beyond simply depicting that this is something they in fact do. However, it is a well executed piece of filmmaking. The gritty, partially hand-held camera work establishes an on-the-ground feeling. When Oscar is arrested, he's on a video call with his wife. That is a good way to create suspense, the audience in the same situation as Sophia, forced to watch what is happening but unable to help. The ending is downbeat but – and I hate that I have to say this but there's a precedence for it – at least there's no dead kids in this one. I'm not sure “A Lien” is especially insightful about the state of the world. It's certainly well made, leading to other arguments about whether it's good to mine real life tragedy for dramatic entertainment, a conversation probably a bit beyond the scope of this review. Vaguely gesturing at political strife, in an effort to make the viewer feel bad, is probably why this will win the Oscar though. [7/10]
Netflix's big pitch in the Live Action Shorts category is “Anuja,” from India. Following the passing of their mother, nine year old Anuja and her older sister, Palak, are functionally homeless. They both work in a sewing factory in order to scrape together enough money to survive. A scout for a boarding school notices Anuja, who is gifted at math. The admittance fee for the exam is 400 rupees, less than five dollars in USD. The sisters have to sell cloth bags on the streets, which Palak has stitched together with scraps from the factory, in order to save that much. The day before the exam, the man who runs the factory notices Anuja's talent as well and offers to give her a high-paying position in his office. Otherwise, he'll fire both girls. The young girl has to make a hard choice between taking care of someone she loves or possibly having a better future for herself.
Child labor is technically illegal in India but it's estimated that around ten million children are still forced to work in the country, often in hazardous or back-breaking environments. “Anuja” was co-produced by Salaam Baalak Trust, a non-profit organization that offers support for homeless and working children in New Delhi. Which means the film exists more to raise awareness than anything else. Balak and Anuja are basically homeless and live in filthy conditions. Most of the adults around them are utterly indifferent to their suffering. The girls' boss – introduced spitting gutka slime into a cup, so you know he's gross – doesn't have any objections to employing a nine year old. The film also shows the clear class lines in India. While attempting to sell their bags, Anuja wanders into a western style mall, clearly designed for and attended by a richer class of people. Palak references saving money to marry a richer man. That or getting into a boarding school seem to be the only path forward to a decent life for girls like these.
In other words: “Anuja” is designed to make the privileged westerners who will watch it feel bad enough to donate to the charity that co-sponsored it. (It was also written and directed by a white American, bringing any number of weird racial connotations to this.) With that in mind, the film is probably not as soul-crushingly depressing as it could have been. The sisters are show to, if nothing else, have each other. They even have some fun together, using some leftover money to see a movie. However, the twenty-two minute film still presents the idea that its protagonist – not unlike many real world kids, I imagine – has to choose between a future and taking care of her present. You know that unfortunate circumstance is what we're supposed to take from the film, as it ends on an ambiguous note that emphasizes it. The cast does good work, with Sajda Pathan – an actual street child rescued by the film's producers – being especially charismatic. The cinematography is gritty but not incoherent. Ultimately, I do wish “Anuja” had a little more to say than simply showcasing the sad and all-too-common conditions its characters live in. An opening telling of the folktale of the Faithful Mongoose never quite connects to the story and I was left feeling a bit unfulfilled. [6/10]
It's something we've all done a hundred times without thinking about it much. You try to sign into a website or fill out a digital form and are asked to click a button or take a small test to prove you are a flesh-and-blood human being and not a machine. This is such a common place event that the phrase “I'm Not a Robot” has subconsciously wedged itself into our brains, without much meaning. This Dutch short film of the same name has a simple enough set-up: What if you took a CAPTCHA and it said you weren't human? That's what happens to music producer Lara in the office one day. After failing the CAPTCHA, she tries to call her boyfriend and ask him about it. He shows up at the building shortly afterwards, ready to break the sad news to her. Yes, Lara is a robot and all her memories are false creations to trick her into thinking she's a real person. Lara doesn't believe any of this though and is determined to prove otherwise.
It truly is a question loaded with heavy connotations, that we only brush off because we are so used to seeing it. Declaring yourself to definitively not be a robot prompts the follow-up query: How do you know you are human then? For that matter, what is a human? How does an organic being differ from an artificial one? These are all fairly weighty and somewhat pretentious thoughts to have. “I'm Not a Robot” does a good idea of addressing these ideas. As the evidence mounts in front of Lara that she really is a machine, she throws out rebuttals. What of her memories, her experiences that she can recall? Do fake memories have as much value as real ones? Is something only important if we know it literally happened? Lara believes herself to be alive and autonomous, much the same way any human being would. Obviously, these are all thoughts the filmmakers behind “I'm Not a Robot” must have had, as it quickly does decide on the differing factor between man and machine. This leads the movie towards its dramatic, somewhat ambiguous final moment.
Despite the high-minded ideas “I'm Not a Robot” throws around, it's not nearly as heavy-handed as it probably sounds. The film has a breezy delivery to it. That its narrative spirals into such philosophical debate by a simple, every day event is interesting. Ellen Parren gives a solid performance as Lara, a woman who isn't going to let other people tell her what to do. The short progresses nicely, as it asks the audience to wonder about the question it poses. Truly, this is one of those set-ups that keep you guessing until the end. The short also makes good use of Scala & Kolancy Brothers' cover of “Creep,” most famous for being featured in “The Social Network” trailer. I still love that take on that song. I don't know if “I'm Not a Robot” is nearly as funny or insightful as it sets out to be but I found it to be a compelling 23 minutes. [7/10]
I'm a soft touch when it comes to animals so, unsurprisingly, at least one of this year's live action shorts seems tailor-made to tug at my heart strings. “The Last Ranger” is set on a South African game preserve. It follows Khusel, a ranger designated with protecting the rare and endangered animals from poachers. She brings Litha, the young daughter of another ranger, with her on a morning patrol. They stop to observe some rhinos in their natural habitat when something awful happens. Poachers shoot a rhino and chainsaw off its horn. Khusel is also shot by the poachers, a not uncommon occurrence during scenarios such as these. Litha, documenting everything with her camera, seeks to find help.
I watch a lot of animal shows. They are relaxing. Obviously, a lot of these programs deal with endangered and threatened species, such as rhinos. I'll admit, whenever these shows mention the statistics about poaching or the dwindling wild populations of these animals, it always makes me misty-eyed. The all too possible extinction of the white rhino is especially upsetting, as rhino horns have no pharmaceutical or monetary value in and of themselves. The utterly senseless destruction of these beautiful animals is based entirely in superstition and greed. It riles me up, honestly. All of this means “The Last Ranger” is practically designed to hit me right in the heart. To add further sentimental value, the film throws in an imperiled little kid and a heroic sacrifice on top of the threatened animal.
Unfortunately, I didn't find “The Last Ranger” especially moving on its own. Yep, this is another film designed more to raise awareness than to make a salient point. The emotional manipulation in effect seems blatant and obvious. From an early scene, you can guess where this is going. There's a dramatic twist to the story, which seems meaningless as the script makes no attempt to build upon it. There's a frankly unnecessary burst of on-screen gore, doing little to dispel the exploitative nature of the film. More so because the film uses actual animals and real footage, which simply makes me uncomfortable. The photography is nice and the performances aren't bad but “The Last Ranger” is the exact kind of short film that usually rub me the wrong way and, for whatever reason, inevitably seems to get the Academy's attention. [5/10]
War and atrocities continue to be topics that get the attention of the Academy, for reason that a term paper or two could be written about. The topic crops up again this year with “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent,” a film that really requires some historical context to be effective. In February of 1993, a passenger train passed through Bosnia. It was stopped by the secessionist Bosnian Serb army. As part of a campaign of terrorism and genocide against the Muslim Bosniak ethnicity in the country, the army dragged twenty people off the train and murdered them. This became known as the Strpci massacre. The only non-Muslim killed in the kidnapping was Tomo Buzov, a retired Croat army officer. He stood up to the soldiers, catching their attention and being dragged off in place of the Bosniaks in the compartment. Tomo's actions saved the lives of four people, at the cost of his own.
“The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” is, surprisingly, not about Tomo Buzov. Instead, the film follows Dragan, another one of the passengers on the train that day. In the short, we see Dragan mildly annoyed at the train being stopped at first. It seems to be little but an inconvenience to most of the riders. When the military barges in, he asks questions at first but soon falls in line to the voice of authority. This is contrast to what he said to the one Muslim in the car with them earlier, promising the boy it would be okay. The protagonist is merely an observer to Tomo's actions. Which is an interesting choice. At first, during my initial watch, I was a little bugged by “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent.” Is this one of those awards bait-y movies that assume the audience can't relate to an ethnic character and make-up a fictional stand-in we can ostensibly relate to? I hate that kind of stuff.
However, after the short ended, I went and read the Wikipedia article on the true events and re-watched the film. With proper context, it's much more powerful. The short doesn't show the massacre or give you much information about the on-going war at the time. That makes it ending feel a lot less meaningful, perhaps even plain. Once you understand what's going on, it takes on a lot more depth. This is, ultimately, a movie about the person we think we are and the person we actually are. What Tomo Buzov did was not a grand or flashy gesture. He simply stood up and said something when no one else was willing too. We all hope we'd be able to spot injustice as it was happening. The truth is most of us are probably like the protagonist in this film, willing to capitulate to authority simply because it doesn't immediately effect us. Small actions have a big impact sometimes though. I don't know if needing to read about the real events makes “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” a truly excellent film or not. It's also only 14 minutes long, not requiring much to be re-watched, so perhaps that's not a big deal. Once you educate yourself a little, this does prove to be a rather thoughtful and powerful movie. [7/10]
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