The 5th Short Film Hall of Fame

I just finished my monthly challenge last night, so I'm sure I can tackle a couple of these today. We'll see.

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O-key, I just started with Malice in Wonderland cause it's the shortest and that was, uhhh, that was quite something.

I like this. That would have the deadline around July 4th, but I'll be celebrating the shit out of America on that day, so everybody cool with July 9th as the deadline date?\


EDIT: If everybody votes before then, I will be more than happy to call it early btw

All of the nominations combined probably add up to less than two hours, but agonizing over the rankings is going to take me weeks.

So July 9 is good with me

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Captain's Log
My Collection

Sorry, couldn't resist.

But anyway, I interpreted this short as being about the consequences of living a life filled with regret and of not fully accepting your true self. From what I can tell, we are seeing the final thoughts of a man on his deathbed as he owns up to the consequences of doing what society expects of men, i.e., marry a woman, start a family, etc. instead of embracing his homosexuality. It provides food for thought for all of the above and there are techniques and direction that struck a chord with me. I especially like the use of mirrors for how they capture the duality of our true identities versus the ones we project to other people. What I'll remember the most about this movie, though, are the scenes with Mads and his wife and with his lover where they kiss, grab their faces, choke each other, etc., which I took as an attempt at using actions instead of words to express both the pleasures and frustrations of intimacy.

Despite its qualities, the short is a bit too cold and obtuse for me to fully embrace. While I expect a bit of iciness in Scandinavian art, it's perhaps too icy for my liking. Also - and despite what I like about its style - it often borders on parody of the stereotypical black and white European art movie and perfume commercials from the '80s and '90s. It's always nice to see Mads Mikkelsen and Erland Josephson in anything, and again, it does provide worthwhile food for thought, but it's a short I appreciate more than enjoy. Oh, and it also deserves credit for giving us an idea of what Lars Von Trier's version of Brokeback Mountain would look like.

July 9th sounds like a good deadline. I'll probably finish up this week myself.

Does anybody have a link to Seven (2018)

The House is Black (1963) is a documentary short directed by Forugh Farrokhzad focusing on a leper colony in Northern Iran. I had seen this once before and was very impressed with it, giving it a perfect rating at that time. I was equally impressed with it this time.

This is an absolute masterpiece, gripping, powerful, and moving. I really liked the poetic elements of the film and I thought it was done very effectively. The film is honest and real, but never exploitative. It feels compassionate, humane and empathetic, without coming across as manipulative or sappy. The House is Black is a beautiful film and one of the greatest short films I have ever seen.

There is a Vimeo link a couple of pages back, but here it is anyway...

I watched Nu (2003). Directed by Simon Staho, the film stars Mads Mikkelsen,Elin Klinga and Mikael Persbrandt. It's about a man and woman who got married in the 60s. It seems like it is more out of a sense of duty and expectation than out of love. The husband falls in love with another man and starts an affair, having devastating consequences on his wife. I thought Mikkelsen was very good here and the other actors were fine too. It was somewhat interesting, but I feel they could have done more with the story. Some of the characters actions didn't completely work for me and didn't always fit with the story in a convincing way. There are enough good moments here though to make it worth watching. I'm glad I checked it out as it doesn't seem to be very well known.

I missed that link, so thanks for reposting it.

I watched A Gun for George (2011). Written, directed by and starring Matthew Holness, it is about a frustrated novelist of a series of crime novels. He is struggling to get his books in stores or in libraries and often imagines himself as the character in the book. I enjoyed this. It had some fun moments and some nice humour. Holness is quite good as the main character, unhinged but still sympathetic. I also liked the look of the film, especially the retro 70s parts. This was entertaining and well paced. Good pick.

I just finished watching Goodbye Mommy (2019). Directed by Jack Wedge, it is about a detective hired by a queen to locate her baby. The animation in this was unusual, but I think it worked for this short. The characters were interesting and the story was told in an odd and trippy sort of way. The voice acting was pretty good and it was well paced. Good pick as most of us wouldn't have seen this if it wasn't nominated.

Seven (2018) is directed by James Morgan and focus on a young woman who has has to make a life or death decision in seven seconds. The film takes plan in the Arctic Circle. I thought this was a well made and effective dramatic short. The cinematography is excellent. The film looks beautiful. Performances are good and the story was interesting. This was a good nomination. I'm glad I got to check it out.

I just finished watching Night and Fog (1956). Wow, just wow. This was horrific, harrowing, and disturbing. Some films you truly can't unsee. It's so heartbreaking and disgusting the evils and atrocities that humanity has done to one another. This is an essential and important film, as difficult as it is to watch. Night and Fog is an incredibly powerful documentary short and undeniably a masterpiece.

Just finished The Heart of the World

Hedgehog in the Fog

This adorable and atmospheric Russian short plays out like an adaptation of the best children's book you've never read. Speaking of, if it is an adaptation, I'd pay a lot for a copy. I love how fluid and nuanced the animation is and I credit it for not looking like any other animated short - or feature length animated movie, for that matter - I've ever seen. For the most part, it looks like Norstein used cardboard and/or paper cutouts, but in some shots, I have no clue how he pulled them off. To be specific, the rotating shot of the tree - taken from the hedgehog's perspective - and the animation of the water in the scene where our hero floats down the stream. They are so detailed and realistic that they might as well be real thing.

Is there more to this short than splendid animation and the thrills and chills in the hedgehog's adventure? I found it to be a tale about the importance of taking a leap of faith and the road less traveled every now and then. The fog, like any place outside our comfort zones, is full of dangers both real and imagined. It's a place where bad things can happen, but as evidenced by the kindly dog who returns the hedgehog's knapsack, that's not all that can happen. When the hedgehog finally meets the bear, he is justifiably silent because his experience has left him with a lot to think about. However, they're memories that will last a lifetime, and when he does speak, he'll likely blow the bear's mind!