A Morte de uma Sombra

Matthias Schoenaerts shines in a nightmarish fantasy short with a distinctive look. I'm not too fond of some of the "steampunk" aesthetics, but as a whole the visuals are both striking and memorable. The story itself touches upon archetypal themes such as love, betrayal, sacrifice and death ; as a result it feels somewhat like an old fairytale or an old fable, transmitted from century to century.

Another, more contemporary theme concerns the porous and shifting borders between watching and condoning, between watching and participating or between watching and provoking.

Last but not least the movie reminds one of the catastrophic suffering involved in World War One. As a child I remember meeting very old people who had seen their share of loss and grief and who spoke of "the war", in the singular. For them the first World War still remained the great, the real, the original war, with all subsequent conflicts being but aftershocks or afterimages.

This is the first year that I ever saw the five Oscar nominated live action short films. Death of a Shadow is by far the most original. It's very strange but it's altruism makes it quite appealing.

All of the films were very well done, had a message, and were deserving of the Oscar.

My favorite was Curfew about a woman, her adorable, precocious daughter and her estranged brother who is suicidal. I hope the fact that it was the only one in English didn't influence my choice. The little girl in the movie is adorable and a very good actress. The message I received was, if you commit suicide you will never know the joys the future might bring.

Henry showed the difficulties of aging and loosing your memory. As one of the elderly myself, the movie had a sobering impact. The music was very good.

Buzkashi Boys takes place in Afghanistan and is about the dreams and aspirations of two young boys. It was very moving and your heart went out to the two boys and their likely bleak futures.

Asad is about a young boy in Somalia living in poverty who wants to be a pirate. He catches a very unusual "fish." He also makes the best of his situation in a county that has undergone many problems.

I highly recommend seeing the film that contains these five films.

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 films nominated for this award, I would have to say that two films are definitely the best. The problem is that the films are both so perfect, BOTH should get the Oscar and I would be equally thrilled if either won. "Henry" and "Death of a Shadow" are simply magnificent films from start to finish. And, while I SLIGHTLY preferred "Henry" (ever so slightly), "Death of a Shadow" is definitely the more creative of the two.

"Death of a Shadow" is set in a steampunk sort of world. As for the story, it's a bit vague--and some might dislike this. But, I actually think this made the story work just fine. It begins with Nathan standing on a dark street in what probably is Belgium. Here's where it gets weird--you hear a commotion and see shadows along the wall--but there is no one there!!! But, when Nathan looks through a weird camera-like device, he can see a murder taking place! And, at the moment of death, he snaps a picture of the dead man. Then, he returns to a weird building (full of steam-powered gear and a WEIRD gallery), he extracts the shadow from the camera and gives it to a twisted bald man who mounts it on the wall--like some sort of twisted museum. There is MUCH more to the story than this--but I don't want to spoil the film. Suffice to say, it's VERY touching and perfect...absolutely perfect. The best thing, aside from a mind-blowingly original story, is just how cinematic the film is. It looks like it cost many millions and is an amazing journey. See this film...it's AMAZING.

A young soldier has been killed in the Great War, but he manages to do a deal with death that will allow him (Matthias Schoenarts) to return to the land of the living on the condition that he collects 10,000 shadows. Essentially, this involves him taking a sort of photograph of other people whose spirits he hopes to trade in for his own. It's only as he gets near to his target that he encounters the pining "Sarah" (Laura Verlinden) who is mourning her long lost "Daniel" (Benjamin Ramon). A little investigation reveals that this young man met a rather ignominious end, but as "Nathan" sees just how distressed she is he wonders if perhaps his life is the most important thing to be returned to a world devastated by war and tragedy. It's not the most straightforward of narratives, this, and that ambiguity helps it to stand out as quite a gently thought-provoking and highly personal drama set against an almost unquantifiable backdrop of longing, grief, sacrifice and quite possibly shame too. It's a stylishly filmed feature that is well worth twenty minutes of your time.

There have been one too many short films greatly diminished en route to a feature length film not to be at least a little hesitant in this statement. Nevertheless, any flaws in this compelling short film could be remedied by a feature length film version, done right. Some unfinished questions answered, further character development, and additional backstory- with the already impressive cinematography and ingenuous premise with such imaginative world building should only result in something most magnificent. Can it be done? Yes, but whether it will is the real issue we have, but I for one plead for an answer in the affirmative! Here is my official endorsement for the future successful films by Belgian director Tom Van Avermaet!