'BUTTER LAMP': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
A 15 minute French-Chinese short film; which was nominated for an Academy Award, for Best Live Action Short Film, at the upcoming 87th Academy Awards. The short is about a traveling photographer, photographing Tibetan nomads; in front of various backdrops. It was written and directed by Wei Hu and features a variety of inexperienced Tibetan actors. I found it to be pretty simple and the least impressive of the 2015 Oscar nominated live action shorts.
The film tells the story of a photographer, and his assistant, photographing Tibetan nomads; in front of different (fake) backgrounds. The entire time the camera stays still, as the villagers and backgrounds keep changing. At the end of the movie, the viewer finally gets to see where the photos are actually being taken. There's no story, or real character development, throughout the entire short.
The film is humorous, for a little while, but even at 15 minutes it seems kind of long. I kept waiting for something more to happen, but nothing really does; until the very end. It is a good idea for a short, but it should have been even shorter (in my opinion). I think the filmmakers were trying to say something about the Tibetan people, and their changing culture, but it's not real clear. It is a beautiful film to look at though.
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