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Born with It (2015)
A touching one
An impactful short that shows the day to day life of many people like the main character and the struggles that go unnoticed. A black Japanese boy moves from Tokyo to a small village and starts anew in an old school. He discovers that being different in an old-fashioned place has consequences that he couldn't have imagined.
It's a well-paced short, one in which you can see how the kids start bullying the main character and how he slowly starts believing them. It's a continuous process that is represented by the typical Japanese mask that is used when someone is sick. The kids bullying the main character give it to him so he doesn't spread his disease. At first, the kid doesn't put it on, but as the short progresses, we see how his confidence starts crumbling.
Despite the sad connotations of the short, it's really heartwarming to see a few short, but special moments within it that show that there's still hope. That not everyone is out to get somebody. This short is a small jewel that should be recognized for speaking out about the reality of many mixed-race children in Japan.
Otousan no tabako (2007)
Small delight
A masterpiece in the form of a short film. A little girl has to buy cigarettes for his father, who's sick and can't move from his bed. Despite her innocence, she will have to learn what it is to have your parents make bad choices for themselves and be there to witness it.
What I really loved about this short was the way it portrays the relationship between the father and the child. Despite the father not appearing much in the short, the viewer can see just how much the little girl loves her father by the way she does whatever it takes to fulfill his father's desires. Moreover, the actress that plays the little girl inspires such tenderness within the viewer that it's impossible not to be heartbroken when she gets sad. But not everything is sad, there are some funny moments when she's struggling and, of course, the heartwarming moments that come from having such a deep bond with a father.
From beginning to end, this short is a life lesson for the little girl and a reminder for the viewer that, even when we want something, maybe we are better off without it. Not only so we can be happier, but the people around us too.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
Hilariously daring
Eggsy, a young-looking boy that lives in the suburbs, gets in trouble and, after getting bailed out of prison by a mysterious man, he's offered the chance to become a kingsman.
Since this movie came out, it has become one of my favourite movies of all time. It's really easy to follow, the characters are charming in their own way and the dialogue is witty. Not to talk about the action scenes. As a society, we have been exposed to so many action scenes and violence, that not much surprises us, but the way this movie portrays that action is just mind-blowingly good (and quite funny sometimes).
It's always a delight to watch anything by Colin Firth, but Taron Egerton (Eggsy) was truly fit to play that character. There's a lot of character development for Eggsy in just one movie, and even when the movie is about fighting, the development doesn't feel rushed because the writers devote part of the movie just so we can see how Eggsy struggles to become the man he should be to represent Kingsman. It's a breath of fresh air to see characters properly developed in an action movie. That's why I like this movie so much, because it's not just mindless violence.
Cheers to the writers. Fantastic job.
A Monster Calls (2016)
Tears guaranteed
Conor, a young kid living with his ill mother, has to take care of her by himself as she gets worse. He also has to deal with the appearance of his grandmother, who wants to take care of her daughter, and the appearance of a mysterious monster that likes telling him stories...
Absolutely heartbreaking. The bond between a mother and son is the main theme of the movie, and it's treated with such care and tenderness through the sad parts that it's impossible not to cry. I loved this movie, because it pictures those bad desires/thoughts that we humans get sometimes and that we don't want to get, and turns it into something beautiful and understandable. The acting of the child is impeccable. Even when working with such difficult themes, he manages to portray all the anguish and pain that this movie is about.
Moreover, the animated parts of the movie are truly a work of art, and it's clear just with how much care they have been created.
All in all, a masterpiece of a movie. Bayona, no matter what type of movie he creates, will always manage to grab your heart and break it into little pieces and make you like it.
Deadpool 2 (2018)
Masterpiece
In this sequel, Deadpool must deal with his enemies, the love of his life being in danger and the strange partnership of a man coming from the future and a mutant kid.
There are no words to describe just how clever the humor in this movie is. The first Deadpool movie was groundbreaking and, surprisingly, the level of this one is even higher. I'm amazed at how the writers can so easily insert humor in action/serious scenes without breaking the tension and how, even scenes that are heartbreaking, fit so well with the continuity of the movie.
But there's more than just humor. The characters are amazingly developed, each one of them drawing you in with their different personalities. It also has great character development for Deadpool, something that we couldn't really see in the first movie since it worked as a presentation for the character. Still, it's just heartwarming to see that, even when he's a mercenary, he still has morals that he lives by. The combination of Deadpool and the mutant kid is adorable, and Cable and Domino steal all of their scenes with how good they are. The best team!
Absolutely loved it!
Embers (2006)
A longing short about the consequences of war
A woman waits for her husband to return from the war, alone and heartbroken, and also being hunted by the ghost of the same war.
The short certainly knows how to grab the viewer's attention. It starts with a slow pace, which is maintained throughout the entire short, but just when the viewer thinks that they are going to get bored, there's an incident that hook us right in. The strangeness and the surrealism of the situation let us see just how much the woman is suffering by the absence of her husband, no dialogue needed.
The placing of the setting is amazingly good, too. Without truly mentioning out loud, we know-- by the silence of the women, the state of the house, and the sad feeling of it-- that there's a war going on, and that the main character has been left waiting, and waiting.
Despite its good points, the ending is a little anticlimatic. There's no resolution for the woman, and the incident that hooked the spectator in isn't explained at all. Even when the short manages to grab our attention and have us patiently waiting through its slow pace for a resolution, it fails to deliver a satisfying explanation for just what the story is really about.
Whacked (1998)
Very surprising
People start falling unconscious on the street without explanation and the city that is witnessing it becomes pure chaos; ambulances, fear and panic...
I find this short to be a very good example of what a non-linear narrative is like, and just how well flashbacks can be used in order to surprise the spectator. The chaos in the beginning grabs our attention and make us wonder just what is exactly happening, only for the scenery to change and make us focus on something completely different that will come around full circle in the ending.
Aside from the structure of the short, I found the pacing to be quite good. A little bit before the short ends, the spectator starts realizing the reason why those people were dropping (almost) dead, and starts seeing the main character in a new light, which makes them able to savor the irony of the short well before it ends. A very fun and a little wicked short to watch.
Fish Out of Water (2005)
Witty
A man rows to work every day on his little boat. He enjoys the peace and quiet of his mornings until one day, a woman asks him to carry her on his boat, unfurling a series of events that will make the man's mornings not so peaceful.
I loved how the short carries us so easily throughout the peaceful beginning and into the stressful events that follow. Even though the characters don't talk, it's pretty obvious what their personalities are like because they shine through their actions and small details. The parallels and the motifs are what make this short so interesting, because you can see how the number of passengers of the boat keep on growing and how the man's patience keeps on thinning with every morning that passes.
The ending cuts all of the accumulated tension with a comedic and unusual turn that stays absolutely true to what we have seen of the main character from the very beginning.
Three Days in Kamakura (2012)
Sweet, sad thing
A couple takes a child home after his mother failed to show up at the school where the husband works. From then on it's up to them to keep the child or do what's right.
The structure of the story is linear and although it takes a while to take off, it shows a heartwarming story about reconnecting with your own family and how the pain of losing someone affects you. It also sets a lovely atmosphere with the camera angles and shots that show the simplicity and details of the short.
In my opinon, there are some elements of the film that don't add to the unity and continuity of it. The actions of some characters don't seem to make sense, plot-wise, because it doesn't make the plot move forward. Moreover, the acting of the actors doesn't seem to evoke as many feelings as the short was supposed to.
J'attendrai le suivant... (2002)
Second-hand embarrassment served
A lonely woman goes on about her life until one day, the ride on her usual train takes an unexpected turn, changing her life in the mere span of a few minutes.
It's a well-crafted short, from start to finish. The actress does a magnificient job showing the sad, lonely side of the character, which makes the audience take a liking on her earlier in the short. There's humour in it too, and the cadence of the dialogue makes the audience follow the slow but steady flow of the plot.
The simplicity and familiarity of the setting (coming home from work, getting on the train to share your personal space with strangers for as long as the ride lasts) adds to showing how easily events in the short could happen in real life. How humans can be cruel without meaning to, and how they can also be very naive when hope is an option.
The naiveness of the woman, her hope to finally stop feeling lonely, is what gives this short that special touch.
Lifted (2006)
A funny short about learning
A sleeping human rests on his bed when a gigantic UFO appears and, hell-bent on it, attempts to take him away.
The animation sets the scene as something mysterious, something that the spectator is expecting to see in an UFO movie, which later on adds to the humorisity of it all when the alien keeps on trying to take the human away without success, making the viewer realise that this isn't a normal short.
There's no dialogue, but the visual storytelling (the expressions of the aliens, the circumstances in which the youn alien is in) is so great that it isn't needed. The constant mistakes of the alien and the absolute blank-face of his partner are hilarious, but the story has time to turn a little heartwarming before making the audience laugh again. The ending is truly the cherry on top of this humorous short.
The Crush (2010)
Sweetly creepy
A quite disturbing short when all is said and done. A kid falls in love with his teacher and asks her to marry him, later on discovering that the teacher is supposed to marry her boyfriend.
The story line starts off as something that everyone is used to: a kid 'falling in love' with his teacher because she's the only one that truly gives him attention. The short seems to follow the sweet but unattainable crush of the kid, but it suddenly takes a turn for the worst when we are showed just what the intentions of the kid are.
It has two plot twists, one that makes us terrified, and another one that leaves us with a misplaced feeling. The short is an excellent example of how to twist the plot to play with the audience, and it's really good to see some disturbing themes with which all of your expectations are shattered.
Father and Daughter (2000)
Tender
A short that doesn't use words and still manages to leave you speechless. A father goes away into the sea, leaving his young daughter behind. As the years pass, the daughter finds herself coming back to their parting place to wait for him.
I find it beautiful how the longing that comes from losing a father is portrayed; through the fluid animation-- which contributes to showing the passing of the years and how everything is bound yo change, even when the longing doesn't--, through the music, the ringing of the bycicles... It all comes together to show the viewer how, even when there are always other bycicles on her life-path, she will always be waiting for her father.
Another detail that adds to the emotionality of the short: the facial features of the characters are either shadows, or the details are simple and faint lines that evoke tenderness within the viewer.
The ending is the cherry on top. It unfurls perfectly all that it has been building up since the moment the father left his daughter. A wordless masterpiece.