It’s about that time again. The 97th Academy Awards are scheduled on March 2, which simply feels like there is not enough time to watch all the nominated films if you were to start now, especially if you decide to adopt a concrete girlie persona and become an architect after watching THE BRUTALIST. Oh, not relatable? That’s okay; at least you will have enough time to get cracking on this year’s nominations for the short film categories, which include animated, live action, and documentary. Starting Friday, 2/14, the Coolidge Corner Theatre will be playing the nominated short films in their designated categories (Animated and Live Action on 2/14 and Documentary on 2/21). Watching movies is fun, but betting on winners during awards season is another kind of manic pleasure that usually ends in disappointment. Know-it-alls who are getting tired from holding space for this awards season can re-experience the immersive experience of getting wrecked again. Let’s get on it and argue!
INTRODUCTION
Successful documentaries, I’d say, should be good at two things: 1) presenting details of an event (well-known or not) that are accurate and/or newly informed to the audience and 2) have a point of tension. Do I mean Real Housewives drama of tension? No! I think a lot of bad things happen from a sequence of events, and I’d like to see the reasoning from both sides. Do I mean reaching-across-the-aisle kind of both sides? N– well, sorta! By the end, I want to say, “Oh, I see why this is complicated.”
When I talk about the following nominations, there is a part of me that has to separate what I think is a good subject matter to explore and what is a good documentary. Based on previous winners, I’m still not sure if the Academy votes with their hearts, heads, or vision. I have probably said this before, but the Documentary section is generally a strong category. Also very interesting to see Team USA represent in honing in on our fucked-upness!
Let’s take a look at this year’s nominations for Best Documentary Short Film.
CONTENDERS
- DEATH BY NUMBERS (dir. Kim A. Snyder | USA, 33 mins | trailer) – A survivor of the 2018 Parkland shooting shares her feelings leading up to the conviction and punishment of the murderer.
- I AM READY, WARDEN (dir. Smriti Mundhra | USA, 37 mins | trailer) – The film follows the last moments of a man sentenced to death twenty years after the fatal stabbing of a convenience store worker.
- INCIDENT (dir. Bill Morrison | USA, 30 mins | full video) – Composed entirely of police body cam and street camera footage, INCIDENT shows how Harith Augustus was shot by the police five times – and what the police did afterwards.
- INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART (dir. Ema Ryan Yamazaki | Japan, 23 mins | full video) – A first-grade class in Tokyo prepares to perform “Ode To Joy” to the incoming class. More tears from players than your average full-length sports drama.
- THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA (dir. Molly O’Brien | USA, 35 mins | trailer) – The director interviews her aunt, Orin O’Brien, who was the first woman to play in the New York Philharmonics.
THOUGHTS
If I thought I’m Not A Robot being the sole comedic nomination in the Live Action was funny, then I’m here to tell you that I’m rolling over the nominated choices for this category. For some reason, there are two pairs this year with somewhat of a similar premise. Personally, I didn’t think this would happen, since I presume voters will choose the single best depiction of a specific topic, but maybe this is talent recognizing talent. I was not awards-cognizant in 2019 when Life Overtakes Me (the documentary about how trauma affects Swedish children) and In the Absence (the documentary about Korean school children dying in a boat accident) were competing against each other because I sure would have felt silly about trying to choose my winner.
So do I dare compare the superficially similar topics? Same answer as “Will I keep asking myself questions?”: yes!
SHOWDOWN #1: Instruments of a Beating Heart vs The Only Girl in the Orchestra
THREAD: Playing an instrument
SAY WHAT!?: One may consider the main characters as our fighters: Ayame, a sweet first-grader who just wants to be part of the orchestra, and Orin O’Brien, an older New Yorker who is about to retire from the orchestra. As much as I believe in kid power, O’Brien’s skin flake from her elbow is probably stronger than any human being. But despite hyping her tough exterior, O’Brien shares that she’s never wanted to be in the spotlight; yet it was “The First Woman…” profile that followed her early career stage. Luckily, the gender demographic has vastly changed so much that it’s absurd to think that there would be no women in the orchestra. If I even dare to say, Ayame trying out for the orchestra (twice!) is a consequence of trendsetters like O’Brien. Ayame, the sweet summer child who can’t keep her mask over her nose and is very, very sensitive to criticism, does make the film feel like a dessert that is just almost too sweet to enjoy. Almost.
VICTOR: Physically and skill-wise, it’s O’Brien. For the unbreaking smiles, it’s Ayame. For legacy, it’s Tár, always.
SHOWDOWN #2: Death by Numbers vs I Am Ready, Warden
UNITING THREAD: Capital punishment
SAY WHAT!?: I watched them back to back (though I believe the program at Coolidge has them separated) and found it strange that even though the responses to the death penalty are relatively similar, the setting of these reactions contrast with each other…a bit rudely?
Death by Numbers follows Sam Fuentes, who survived the shooting after she was shot in the leg. Arrestingly, she was in a Holocaust studies class, in which the birth of evil was discussed before the shooting. There is absolutely no good reason why children should be describing the fear of another human wanting to kill them, but as it goes: if Sandy Hook didn’t change gun possession laws, nothing else would. I Am Ready, Warden is the final words that John Henry Ramirez shares before his long-delayed execution. Talking to the camera with a gentle demeanor, you would believe that, beyond feeling remorse, he feels at peace with his sentencing. But on the opposite end of this story is Aaron Castro, the son of the deceased victim. Aaron had only been a boy when his father Pablo was killed and had grown up with an anger that spikes in his voice when discussing Ramirez.
On the basis of storytelling, Death By Numbers is an unfiltered, justified portrayal of a victim’s emotions. The film’s movement is fueled by Fuentes’ feelings four years after the event, which still feels only in-the-moment. I understand that that kind of approach might be impactful if that was the goal, but Aaron is a really good example of showing the complexity of this without directional signs from the team. It’s Aaron’s response to Ramirez’s death sentence that makes this feel the most real.
VICTOR: In these situations? No one, ever.
BLACK SHEEP: Incident
SAY WHAT!?: I’d like to think that All Light, Everywhere had a big impact on this documentary, which is really a careful compilation of all the footage related to Harith Augustus’s fatal shooting on the streets of Chicago. Director Bill Morrison makes a more crafted choice to show it in a timeline that first depicts the shooting, then how Augustus had initially been involved, and finally a very specific close-up to dispute what the police officers had been riding their testimonies on. There are captions on the screen to give context, such as the state’s gun laws and the following “punishments” of the officers afterwards. I’m a bit guilty of loving films with big editing energy, and I think there is something that tickles an itch to watch different footage synchronized by timestamps.
(Warning: it depicts graphic violence of Augustus’s death.)
PREDICTIONS
WHO SHOULD WIN: I Am Ready, Warden
WHO WILL WIN: I Am Ready, Warden
