We caught the Oscar nominations for short movies, animated and otherwise, a couple of weeks ago. Forgot to mention it until now. Worth recapping.
Amongst the highlights of the animated programme: The Danish Poet, a very sweet telling of how the animator's parents met... No Time For Nuts, a skit featuring Scrat from Ice Age... A Gentleman's Duel, an amusing English-French steampunk-styled duel over a noblewoman's hand... Guide Dog, an amusingly sick tale of an over-eager guide dog who gets all his charges killed... Maestro, an impeccably-presented piece of CGI, with just one joke but perfectly delivered... and One Rat Short, a superbly-animated but utterly gutting tale of a street rat accidentally swept up into a science lab where other rats are being experimented upon. Sarah and I decided instantly to expunge that one from our memory, but it bears mentioning. It was very good. Just very sad. Like We3 come to life. Which reminds me, actually, there's a script for We3 and reports suggest it will make the best movie ever. Hurrah for Grant Morrison!
Amongst the highlights of the live-action shorts: Binta And The Great Idea, a complex story about life viewed from Africa which carried quite a lot of emotional punch and also looked great... The Saviour, a slightly disturbing story about a door-to-door missionary having an affair, notable for featuring Nicholas Hammond (TV's original Spider-Man) as a nutjob preacher... and the winner, West Bank Story, a sublime retelling of West Side Story Bollywood-style with Arabs and Jews opening neighbouring fast-food restaurants. Quite insane.
You can get both collections on DVD, I believe, so give it a shot. Much better than watching one long movie and finding you don't like it; if you don't like a short, just tap your foot for fifteen minutes and another one will be along.
We watched them at the VanCity Theatre. This is a very nice theatre. They aren't kidding about having luxurious seats. It's a fifteen-minute walk from our apartment, so very handy. Like living near the Duke Of York's again!
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