2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films - Live Action Film (2023)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
Always a great presentation and fantastic trip to the movies, you have to look fast because the short films are only in theaters for a few weeks, prior to the Oscars.
Oscar pools and Oscar party contests can be won and lost with the Short Film categories. Experiencing these nominees achieves both a better chance at victory and the opportunity to see some terrific and original films.
NO
Casual movie watchers tend to watch high profile, big name star movies and convincing people to watch short films is a challenge. No matter how good these films are, a large number of people are not going to care much.
You are not a fan of a wide range of genres and themes. You never know what you are going to get with these short film presentations and that mix of styles can throw people off.
OUR REVIEW
Every year, the ballot busters for Oscar pools and Oscar parties often prove to be the short film categories. Collating the short film nominees since 2006, ShortsTV and ShortsHD produce some of the most unpredictable and entertaining moviegoing experiences of the year. Short films celebrate the creativity that lies within the artists and creators; they are a fertile ground of new voices, challenging perspectives, and innovative presentation. I love uncovering these films and stories each year.
Now playing in theaters, and scheduled to play on VOD the week before the 95th Oscars, the Short Film packages continue to prove wildly popular with audiences. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the box office numbers for the Oscar nominated short film presentations grew year-to-year and these films matter to those genuinely curious about the potential next wave of storytellers and filmmakers emerging around the world.
And so, without any further ado, let's dive into this year’s nominees for Best Live Action Short Film.
AN IRISH GOODBYE | 23 MINUTES
Directed by: Tom Berkeley, Ross White
★★★1/2
In a year of Irish representation across the Oscar continuum, largely led by the nominations for The Banshees of Inisherin, a film like An Irish Goodbye carries an aggressively spirited tone as two brothers deal with the days following their mother’s recent passing. Turlough (Seamus O’Hara) is left to look after younger brother Lorcan (James Martin). Lorcan has Down syndrome and Turlough is concerned about his needs with their mother now gone. Lorcan is steadfast in his resiliency and carries his mother’s urn everywhere he goes.
When the brothers find a list of 100 things Mom wanted to do before she died, they try and work through the post-mortem bucket list together, seeing each other differently and arguing and bonding in unexpected and unique ways. Though the film seems to be missing that big emotional moment it strives for, An Irish Goodbye is a gruff, grumpy, bittersweet look at letting go and moving forward. Turlough and Lorcan are great characters and O’Hara and Martin, especially, are terrific.
IVALU | 16 MINUTES
Directed by: Anders Walter, Pipaluk K. Jørgensen (co-director)
★★1/2
Oscar winner Anders Walter (Helium, which won this award in 2014) is back in the Live Action Short Film category with the bleak, rather truncated Ivalu. Set in Greenland, the film builds a premise effectively, before waylaying the viewer with so much in the final minutes that the film just morphs into something rather unpleasant.
Symbolism is present with a raven, always hovering around or near a young girl, Pipaluk (Mila Heilmann Kreutzmann) who wakes up to find her older sister, Ivalu (Nivi Larsen) gone from the home they share with their father (Angunnquag Larsen). Pipaluk then ventures out of her village to find her sister and we get clues along the way as to what may have led to Ivalu’s disappearance. In those moments, as we learn the reality of the situation, Ivalu cements itself as a very heavy burden to carry.
Though beautifully shot, with Kreutzmann’s strong performance, there just is not a lot of joy to be found in a movie with a lot to say and contemplate and not nearly enough time to properly tackle all the film looks to explore.
LE PUPILLE | 37 Minutes
Directed by: Alice Rohrwacher
★★★★1/2
Magical and charming, Le pupille is an Italian film that premiered on Disney+ in the fall of 2022. Alice Rohrwacher’s fourth-wall breaking, Christmas-time fable introduces us to a group of young girls living in a strict, conservative Catholic orphanage.
As traditions and structure are built into their daily routine, the girls prove to be mischievous and seek a way to push back in a youthful display against those aged institutions the church is built upon. A wealthy socialite enters the film (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) and offers a cake, which creates its own unique set of issues. In another moment, a nun exits a room and a girl accidentially changes the radio and finds secular, contemporary music. Oh, the humanity!
Along the way, Rohrwacher pushes on these traditions, intimating that though order and structure have their place, the best thing we can do with our future generations is teach them to find their own path, think for themselves, and, better yet, find joy and optimism in the moments which occur around you.
Whimsical, fun, and even featuring musical interludes (!), Le pupille is sublime, delightful and a wonderful discovery.
Clockwise (L-R): An Irish Goodbye, Ivalu, Le pupille, The Red Suitcase, Night Ride.
NIGHT RIDE | 15 Minutes
Directed by: Eirik Tveiten
★★★
Eirik Tveiten’s Night Ride, from Norway, is engaging, intriguing, and has a far bigger scope than 15 minutes could ever allow. A film of essentially two halves, it has its heart in the right place, but leaves one wondering why such a pointed bend in the story was even necessary at all for a film this efficient in its running time.
Ebba (Sigrid Husjord) is uncomfortable, and worries she may be being followed, and tries to get home and board a tram in the middle of a cold, snowy night. When the driver indicates he is parking the tram for a half hour on break, Ebba stows away and then accidentally starts the tram and drives away. Eventually, two men begin aggressively pursuing a female passenger, Ariel (Ola Hoemsnes Sandum), who is identified as transgender. With no one on board doing anything to stop the troubling interaction, Ebba must decide to ignore the situation or help the woman, as she also tries to drive a bus she’s never driven before.
The imbalance of comedy and suspense jumbles Night Ride and its overall impact, but the film’s efforts to juggle important issues of gender identity, sexism, misogyny, violence, and prejudice - all within one bus ride - is an ambitious feat to pull off. The performances are good, the cinematography beautiful. You just cannot help but wish you had more time on this particular Night Ride.
THE RED SUITCASE | 18 Minutes
Directed by: Cyrus Neshvad
★★★★
Intense and suspenseful, The Red Suitcase spotlights a 16-year-old girl, Ariane (Nawelle Ewad), who arrives from Iran to a Luxembourg airport, where she and her red suitcase are to be picked up by a stranger. This stranger, as arranged by her father, is arranged to be her future husband. This transactional relationship lies at the heart of the film, especially when Ariane decides to hide and avoid following through with the marriage.
If the premise feels familiar on some level, writer/director Cyrus Neshvad delivers a riveting experience where we immediately connect with Ariane and recognize that every decision she makes could mean her life increasingly becomes in danger. As we view the happenings within the airport, through Ariane’s perspective, the world becomes very small when her captor starts to pick up clues that she may not have skipped out altoghter, but may be somewhere nearby.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
The spirit of these films are all inventive, creative, and refreshing to experience. Even if two of the films have a wider ambition than their shortened length allows, this slate of films is worth watching. Le pupille is a film that is going to be the easiest entry point for voters and it is truly the best of the bunch. For your Oscar ballots, Le pupille is a solid, safe choice with An Irish Goodbye and The Red Suitcase feeling like the only films which could legitimately pull off an upset at the ceremony.
CAST & CREW
Directors:
• An Irish Goodbye - Tom Berkeley, Ross White
• Ivalu - Anders Walter, Pipaluk K. Jørgensen (co-director)
• Le pupille - Alice Rohrwacher
• Night Ride - Eirik Tveiten
• The Red Suitcase - Cyrus Neshvad
Release Date: February 17, 2023
ShortsTV/Shorts International