Son of Saul

In my quest to see as many Oscar nominated films as possible, I found myself reluctantly going to see Son of Saul. I have pretty actively avoided films that take place in the Holocaust. I've never seen Schindler's list. Though everything I have heard about the film was positive, the setting can be too much for me. To watch a man's experience escorting victims into the ovens, hearing their screams, collecting their belongings, cleaning the chambers and shoveling their ashes is horrific. We have the constant perspective of looking over Saul's shoulder. All of the atrocities are background and blurred out of focus, yet you know exactly what's going on. Saul also goes on a mission that seems to be an effort to keep hope alive for him. A sad story told in a very skillful film. Tough stuff.

Oscar Nominated Shorts Live Action

Every year they release the Oscar Nominated Shorts in three programs. Today I saw the Live Action Short Films.

Ave Maria is the story of a miserable family that breaks down outside a convent on the West Bank. The nuns have taken a vow of silence so the comedy lies in their efforts to communicate.

Day One shows us the first day of an interpreter in Afghanistan assigned to special forces. The harshness of the environment and the situations are an eye opener.

Everything Will Be OK gives us a front row seat to a kidnapping. Desperate and touching.

Shok shows us two friends and the consequences of having something valuable like a bike in Kosivo.

Stutterer tells a tale of online romance for a young man who has difficulty speaking. The online relationship is great until the young woman wants to meet. He sweats it out until the surprise ending.

I find shorts very satisfying and liked all of these quite a bit. Well done.

Amour

There is a line in the traditional wedding vows that says, "in sickness and in health, till death do we part." In the film Amour, when a woman in her eighties has a stroke, watching her husband deal with her had this phrase running through my head. Love, devotion and compassion fuel her husband as he deals with her steady decline. The director of this film, Michael Haneke, is know to have a brutal style of presenting situations, and this film is no different. He depicts their daily struggles in unflinching cuts. I saw this film in a theater full of senior citizens, and their reactions really drove this film home for me. In true Haneke style, the ending makes you think. An intense film I really liked.

The Intouchables

Watching the trailer, I had a feeling that The Intouchables would be one of my favorite films this year. Seeing the film today, I was right. The story of an invalid and his caretaker is a story of growth, love and living life despite your limitations. Based on a true story, this film is well written, acted and shot. Well done.

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Beasts of the Southern Wild is a poetic story of a young girl coping with a difficult life. The scenes move from fantasy to reality like a dance. Her reality is harsh, but she is strong for such a little girl. I really liked this film about survival.

A Separation

In any altercation there is Story A, Story B and the truth. In A Separation we start with a family struggling with the realities of life. Add an unfortunate incident, desperate motivations and a struggle to find the truth and we've got a drama that is heartbreaking and compelling. The tone of the screenplay borders on a crime thriller. Incidents are exaggerated, information is left out, the facts come together a bit like a puzzle, but we never quite see the whole picture. Excellent film with a deep emotional core.