Showing posts with label Norway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Norway. Show all posts

Friday, March 10, 2023

Live Action Shorts - All nominees

 


An Irish Goodbye
Tom Berkeley 
Ross White 

A sweet and lovely film in which a brother comes home to help bury his mother.  His brother lives on the farm where they grew up, but can't live on his own because of his developmental disability. Ultimately, they agree that if the brothers can complete their mother's bucket list, then the brother who needs more care will agree to go to a care home. And the list is incredible! Finally the list brings the men together in the loveliest of ways, and this one is my pick to win.


Ivalu's has gone missing and her younger sister is determined to find her. The sister follows a black crow around her village with a secret suspicion that the crow is Ivalu. We learn slowly that Ivalu is being attacked by her own father, and that her disappearance is more of an escape.


It's war time and this is a school for young girls in Italy. They are rebellious and wild, and the nuns aren't having it. When a wealthy woman brings a magnificent cake to the kids so that they will pray for her family, the nuns try to wrestle it from the girls' hands... except one little girl who wants a slice of cake! It was a cute little one and is favored to win due to Alfonso Cuaron's involvement, but this one was nothing so special that it should.


Ebba is waiting at the tram station in freezing cold weather.  When the tram finally arrives, the driver insists that it is time for his break and that the tram will leave in 30 minutes, though he will not allow her to come inside. She notices that the tram's doors are not locked and she climbs aboard. She can't resist! She tries the tram's levers and buttons and before she knows it, she's driving the tram. When she arrives at the next stop, she doesn't totally know what to do, so she stops and allows passengers to board. When some of those passengers begin to harass a young trans teenager, she steps in and rescues them (apologies, the film didn't make clear the teenager's pronouns, so I am using the generic "them.") and together they leave the tram. Which leaves the attackers to drive the tram and to be at the helm when... the police arrive. Great, funny, adorable ending.


Best Live Action Short Film
Cyrus Neshvad 

Oy, a tough one. A young teenager from Iran has been sent to Luxembourg to become the child bride of an older man. She does everything in her power to delay her departure from the airport, and when there is nothing left for her to do, she uses what little money she has to purchase a bus ticket. Her betrothed is furious and her father keeps trying to get her on the phone. Through a little bit of smarts and a little bit of courage, she finds a way to escape her fate.
























Wednesday, March 2, 2022

The Worst Person in the World - 2 nominations

 

Best Original Screenplay
Eskil Vogt (written by)
Joachim Trier (written by)
Best International Feature Film
Norway

The Worst Person in the World is the rare Oscars film that is funny, lighthearted, and a general pleasure to watch.  Of course, the lead character is Julia, a woman who is just trying to figure out her life.  Her career is uncertain, she's not confident about what her passions are, she could certainly use a good read of "What Color is My Parachute."  In addition, she moves from boyfriend to boyfriend, and her association with each defines her life in different ways.  Despite her uncertainty, she's an incredibly likable character ironically dubbing herself the worst person in the world.

I tend to love Norwegian films and this one is no exception.  Julia's choices are not always good, they're not always defensible, and she doesn't always "learn a valuable lesson" as movies so often portray.  This film makes different choices - arguably more real choices - along the way, and it's perfect ending is less than perfect... making it utterly perfect.


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