This was 5 live action short films nominated for the 2014 Oscars. Each film was interspersed with interview from famous directors talking about the importance and value of short films.
Helium
A Danish film about a young boy dying in a hospital. He is befriended by a quirky janitor who tells him a story about the magical land of Helium. This land is wonderfully brought to life in the movie with a great magical ending.
The Voorman Problem
Martin Freeman (Hobbit, Sherlock) is the only name actor I recognized, and he starts in this funny and very short movie. There is a great scene where he asks his wife about Belgium and she wonders if it is a type of cheese. Clever concept.
Avant que de tout perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)
This was my favourite. This starts off as a kind of mundane story of a boy skipping school, but the tension gradually and inexorably builds as you learn that he is part of a family fleeing an abusive father. The mother’s sympathetic colleagues at the store where she works help cover for her. Her boss fires her instead of accepting her resignation so she can have access to more benefits. They also talk about the “prud’homme” which is a third type of court unique to France specific to employee/employer litigation. What I liked is that they turned a domestic story into a kind of thriller, where you were really rooting for the family, and the father remained a vague but menacing threat.
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)
This was another intense movie that takes place in an unnamed African country where two aid workers are posing as doctors to save child soldiers. They end up being caught, and in the violence that follows between battling factions, the woman escapes, handcuffing herself to one of the killers, but still just a young teenager. It is a powerful moment when she says “Now you are a cripple.”
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
Fortunately, the set ended on a very funny note with the frantic scrambling of a disorganized Finnish family trying to get to a wedding on time. It was a great (and familiar) moment when the mother realizes that the party dresses are still in the washing machine. The daughters then return in their other “party” dresses, which are Halloween costumes as Pippi Longstocking and a witch. But there is no time to change so off they go!