Une soeur

It is one of short films who you discover, scene by scene, detail by detail, as perfect. From inspired storytelling to the performances and cinematography. At first sigh, a gem. In essence, an intense drama because you feel each nuance of dialogue and its minimalism is real powerful. A call . A woman in the car. And her, in so many senses, sister. Short, exceptional in each detail.

Having attended a local theater's showing of the 2020 Oscar Shorts (Live Action) this was by far the best of the set in a particularly good year for the category. Within the first 60 seconds of the movie you immediately understand the very serious danger the main character (a woman who is a passenger in a man's car). The tension only builds from there. Even in a small theater the absolute stillness from the audience was palpable.

What is especially great here is the utter economy of how this story is told, along with an absolutelying perfect performance of the woman on the other end of the line (a police call operator). The pacing is likewise spot on, being long enough to build the story and draw out the tension, yet short enough to keep everything compact.

The short that did win that year was great as well, in fact several were, but this is one that you came away most changed by.

Obviously inspired by THE GUILTY and some other movies of this kind, with more or less the same scheme, this short feature seems to be the first draft of a long length film made this year 2023 by this same female director. Many young director do the same actually: first a short movie and then a long one with exactly the same plot. Anyway this one is effective, tough, very well done, so I am sure that this woman film maker has great skills to resume in the profession. She deserves to continue, and not stay in the short "industry". I was really impressed by this one, where dialogues are so accurate, chiseled, yes, very impressive piece of work.

"A Sister" is an ideal short film in both its structure and content. The masterful use of camera combined with a powerful script and performances demonstrate all the essential qualities this cinematic medium has to offer. Delphine Girard's film couldn't be more timely and is one that will stay with its audience long after the final credits roll.

Night. A man and a woman in a car. He is driving, while she has to make a phone call to her sister, who is babysitting her daughter.

I agree with a previous reviewer that his is an intense short. Well crafted, but I have a nagging disbelief as to her attitude towards what happened before the depicted story starts.