Every day until the Oscars ceremony we’ll be highlighting a different category or movie here on the LAMB! Here’s a link to all the posts written so far .

Today, Aaron Neuwirth of The Code is Zeek is here to look at the Best Live Action Short Category.

Tnx Aaron!

Best Live Action Short

Here’s my take on the Live-Action Short Films up for Oscars this year.

Detainment

Is it necessary to do more than present facts stylishly? I will leave it up to the reader to read up on the controversy surrounding Detainment, as I have more thoughts stemming in different directions than whether or not it was okay to make this film. While acted well enough to be believable, with enough focus on the dramatization to certainly raise a viewer’s blood pressure and emotional composure, how far is too far. We watch a recreation of interviews with two boys who committed a monstrous act, and I couldn’t help but feel the film was verging on the exploitation of the subject. For all the glossy production values on display, it only adds up to so much when there’s little to explore. Part of the point was making a film based on the actual interview transcripts, but if I’m going to see a movie taking a look at such a horrific event, it may be time to see a take that goes beyond the tapes and inside of the minds of those who committed the act.  

Fauve

While the animation field was well-rounded enough to give me pause in selecting a favorite, Fauve easily wins for this live-action crowd. What begins as a simple series of pranks and competition between two boys, takes a thrilling turn when their playing around in an area featuring an isolated pit grow out of hand. The tension that builds from this shift in the story allows director Jeremy Comte to put his location to good use. The environment the boys are in suddenly takes a new form cinematically as far as we see desperate attempts to resolve a terrifying situation. I’m working hard to stay vague, but the use of imagery that encompasses cracks in the foundation and a specific callback in the final shot that brings things full circle make this a memorable film.  

Marguerite

One thing I can say about Marguerite is that it’s different from the rest by not featuring any children. This story of an aging woman is more of an actor’s showcase, as it revolves around how she deals with her friendship with her caretaker and thoughts on her own past, once making a discovery. Shot in intimate settings, the camera rarely takes time to step back from the characters, instead placing an intense focus on Marguerite as she becomes reflective about her life. With one home serving as the single location, we get a sense of how production design informed the look of this film, going from harsher colors to a softer pallet. It works in pushing the story towards a positive conclusion.  

Mother (Madre)

Here’s another story that relies heavily on the building of tension, only marred by serving as a terrific first act of a larger story. On a technical level, Madre sneakily becomes a clever piece of work, as we soon realize that much of the film has occurred within a single shot. This adds to the rise in the stakes, as a phone call goes from concern to wildly troubling. Watching the camera glide around a couple of rooms, as the two actresses do what they can to try to maintain control over the most stressful of situations, plenty is going on to play on the viewers’ minds. And then it ends. While the nature of a short film doesn’t always require a clear beginning, middle, and end, it’s as if director Rodrigo Sorogoven was merely pushing forward a concept, without a handle on the ultimate delivery. 

Skin

This short film is just wild enough to win the grand prize. The first portion focuses on a skinhead couple showing nothing but love and affection for their son. Inevitably, we must eventually see some encounter that leads to trouble and violence against a person who is viewed as different from them (in this case, a black man). Things grow wilder from there, as there is an unexpected form of retribution, utilizing body horror to the point of borrowing a track from the Under the Skin score to further make its point. Once clued into what is taking place, the film goes down a shocking but predictable path, which may as well cut to credits with the word “Understand?” pasted on the black screen. There’s a timely element to this film, sure, and the acting is unnerving in the ways fitting for the film. Still, the extremes Skin goes to border on silly, though I can’t say it wasn’t creative.  

Tags: Detainment, Fauve, Madre, Marguerite, Skin, The Code is Zeek