Asad

I just got back from seeing the five Oscar-nominated live action shorts and was pleasantly surprised. After seeing a mediocre batch of animated shorts yesterday, I was so happy to see that the live action films are among the very best I've ever seen nominated.

Of the five nominees, "Asad" is my least favorite--though it's still a very nice film and there is a lot to admire. The film is a joint American and South African production that stars a cast of Somali refugees! Talk about a multinational film! "Asad" is set in Somalia, but because the country has no laws or order, the film was made in South Africa. A young boy, Asad, is conflicted. On one hand, he wants to join the older boys who are pirates--attacking ships that come near the coast. But, on the other hand, there is a decent old man who makes his living fishing and encourages Asad to make something of himself. Which path will the boy take? I could tell you where all this goes but it might ruin the film. Suffice to say that it's a sad commentary on the state Somalia is in today...and it ends, inexplicably, on a laugh. Though, in hindsight, I felt a bit uncomfortable with the funny ending following so much carnage. Overall, it's an odd film with wonderful production values but only a mediocre story. The acting, direction and all are very, very professional and nice.

Of the five live action shorts competing at the Oscars this year, Asad is, in my view, the best. Dealing with the lifestyle of a young boy living on the Somali coast, it feels sincere and non- didactic.

The titular character, being too young and small to join the teenage boys in their pirating endeavors, is instead directed to a life as a fisherman, a poor and unappealing profession. He is quick-witted and instantly likable, which is a must in a short film. The macabre in the film is dealt with in such an offhand manner that it easy to overlook the dire circumstances the characters are in. In a scene when Asad is on a fishing trip and discovers a yacht, which was the site of a pirate raid gone wrong, leaving both foreigners and teenagers from his village dead, he is unfazed by the bodies, and is merely irate that the older boys performed so poorly.

Asad is well-made, both thoughtful and enjoyable, and has great music vaguely reminiscent of the score of The Third Man. If you only see one short this year, it should be this one.