Aquel no era yo

Today I went to a special showing of the Oscar-nominated Live Action films. This was a very unusual year because I don't see any clear winner nor did I see any film I disliked. Oddly, however, I didn't see any I loved either and picking the winner is amazingly difficult.

Of all the nominees, "That Wasn't Me" might be the most important and is definitely the most difficult to watch. This is because the filmmakers are trying to draw attention to the god-awful problem in Africa of child soldiers and the scum that force these kids to abandon their childhoods. It is a horrible problem and the film did a great job of showing this hellish existence. Not surprisingly, it's not a pleasant film but it is an exceptional film and is probably the film second most likely to win the Oscar (I think "Helium" has a slight edge--ever so slight). On the other hand, I am often wrong--and what do I know? The film deserves kudos for attacking an important issue, pulling on your heart and having an excellent style.

My only gripe, and it's VERY VERY minor, is that the rape scene is still a little more explicit than I wish they'd done it--but, on the other hand, I do understand why they did it. If you don't show enough, it diminishes the evil of the act--though it sure made me feel very uncomfortable. Because of this and some cold-blooded killings, the film is definitely NOT something to show younger viewers. But it is brave and very well made.

After watching the strongest short that the Oscar-nominated short special had to offer, it's unfortunate to say we hit the weakest link with "Aquel No Era Yo" (That Wasn't Me), a Spanish short focusing on a group of doctors that are apprehended by child soldiers and are eventually taken hostage by extremely violent revolutionaries who are rebelling against their home country. If anything, the short shows how young minds without appropriate parental guidance are warped into believing just about whatever a seemingly-well-meaning adult will tell them while they're still young and naive enough to take orders. It, again, affirms the fact that these young children aren't so much villains but victims of the real villains - the older people that actually possess the ability to think on a larger scale. Instead, the adult revolutionaries pick up a large-caliber weapon, point it at everyone they see, and call it a method of recruitment and a way to gain power and respect by ways of fear. However, "Aquel No Era Yo" ditches this idea quite early in favor of shock and ugliness such as an unnecessary rape scene that does nothing but throw a wrench in the film's flow before ending on a contrived and entirely unbelievable note. When also accounting for the excellent photography and naturalistic gunfire as well as its depiction of brainwashing, but then also seeing that the pervasiveness of the gunfire makes it become a bit of an action movie and never that oriented on its characters, makes "Aquel No Era Yo" a somewhat-likable but entirely uneven mixed bag.

From Spain. I walked away from the programming thinking this had to be the one that would win. It's a super intense piece about a couple of Spaniards in Africa - they might be doctors looking to help rebels, or they might be there to "rescue" child soldiers. They have put themselves in much danger either way, and are quickly captured and face execution. This is intense - almost too much so, honestly. After a while, it starts to feel a little like misery porn. I also didn't care too much for the slick, Peter Berg-esque war filmmaking. But the setting deserves intense treatment, and, in the end, I found it quite powerful.