In the Oscar-nominated short “The Confession,” two English boys approach their first time in the box with a priest.
If that sounds a little “law and order,” there’s a reason.
Jacob has few worries about finding something untoward for this Catholic ritual. He’s much more vexed about the white “dress” he has to put on for the event. We see his point. He’s got a round, soft face ringed by lovely curls. And he rides a pink bicycle. A dress would be the nail.
Nine-year-old Sam, on the other hand, has nothing yet to make amends for. So the two hatch a plan: a minor sin for Sam to divulge. Things go terrifically awry and then plummet from there.
Today begins one of the annual rites of the Academy Awards season, the screening of the contenders for Oscar’s live-action and animation categories at Chez Artiste.
Many a film festivalgoer knows that shorts can be some of the most dynamic and engaging programming. And Colorado is home to the world-renowned Aspen Shortsfest (April 5-10, ), which is among the select festivals where a work can qualify for Oscar consideration.
A bright idea economically executed, a clever kicker, an overwhelming mood — these are some of the qualities of the short film.
The best are never shrunken features. They are complete in their own right. They can be the poems or the short stories of moviemaking.
They can’t even be considered calling cards for future gigs in the traditional sense, though they can give audiences a strong hint of a filmmaker’s wit and creative agility.
In 2006, playwright Martin McDonagh won the Oscar for the short “Six Shooter.” It was a combustible brew that ended bloodily on a train. His first feature-length film was 2008’s frightfully funny and dark comedy “In Bruges,” in which two hit men await orders in the gorgeous medieval Belgian city of the title.
In all of 23 minutes, “The Confession,” directed by Tanel Toom and penned by Caroline Bruckner, grapples dramatically with the notion that the church forces its young to enter the assembly line of confession and absolution early. “The Confession” won the Student Academy Award last year, giving it a nice head wind for the Feb. 27 event.
“The Confession” isn’t the only short concerned with children that turns on pretty dark moments. Michael Creagh’s “The Crush” begins all sweetness and light as schoolboy Ardal Travis presents his teacher with a ring. It shifts to mild foreboding when the lad meets his rival. The film moves from charming to funny to unnerving, and you’re not quite sure it won’t change direction at least one more time.
In Tom Bidwell’s “Wish 143,” a 15-year-old teen tracks the growth of his cancer tumors by the fruit size they approximate. This one’s a kiwi, now a peach.
When a Make-A-Wish-style honcho asks what the boy wants, he says to lose his virginity. How appropriate this desire is — or isn’t — concerns a priest who works at the cancer ward. Where that pang takes the young man is beyond touching.
“God of Love” won special jury recognition at last year’s Aspen Shortsfest. Floating on a jazz hipster score, Luke Matheny’s stylish charmer finds wild-haired lounge singer Raymond Goodfellow given an unusual gift: darts that make people fall in love. Naturally, he intends to use them for his own love connection. How successful he will be is another matter.
Belgian director Ivan Goldschmidt’s “Na Wewe” is set in Burundi as genocide is beginning to boil in neighboring Rwanda. “Na wewe” is Kirundi for “you too,” a phrase that has comic and menacing implications here as travelers are pulled from a van by armed men intent on separating Hutu from Tutsi.
The animated shorts package has wonders, too. The most arresting is French animator Bastien Dubois’ “Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage,” in which a travel diary comes to vivid life, inviting us along for a beautiful ride. Yes, there are lemurs, but it is the Malagasy people who beckon.
The front-runner for the Oscar is probably Pixar’s “Day & Night.” Anyone who went to “Toy Story 3” has seen this cleverly executed short, in which two goofily silhouetted characters with daytime and nighttime innards meet, then compete, before a detente dawns on them.
Film critic Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567 or lkennedy@denverpost.com; also on blogs.denverpostcom/ madmoviegoer
“The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2011: Animation and Live-action”
Not rated, but there are mature themes in a number of the films. Animated package: “Day & Night,” “The Gruffalo,” “Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage,” “Let’s Pollute” and “The Lost Thing.” Live-action package: “The Confession,” “The Crush,” “Na Wewe,” “God of Love” and “Wish 143.” Separate admissions required. Opens today at Chez Artiste.
