Ninety-Five Senses

One of the short films nominated for this year's Oscars under the animation category is Jared and Jerusha Hess' "Ninety-Five Senses," an animated monologue featuring an elderly man recounting some of his earliest life experiences regarding each of his five senses. It starts off rather innocently but takes an unexpected turn that intensifies the impact of the monologue. The film is beautifully written, with perfect clarity for audience reaction, gracefully leading us through a roller-coaster of emotions. It's a well-made short film and one that I'm glad has received one of the highest recognitions it could get.

A man meditates on his physical senses as he waits to be executed for murder.

This is the worst of the animated shorts nominated for the Best Animated Short Oscar this year. Except for the segment about sight, it qualifies as little more than "radio with pictures". Even the part about sight isn't much more visually interesting than the other segments. I can only attribute its inclusion in the field to its anti-capital-punishment message, with, perhaps, the defense that it's not right to execute a man who is deaf, and who would not have burned his victims to death had he heard their cries of agony.