[ad_1]
Like the “Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Live Action” category this year, the “Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Documentary” category isn’t the usual procession of horror, suffering and sadness. Is it possible that the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been reading its reviews and changed its soul-crushing ways?
“Nai Nai & Wai Po,” the first of the nominated shorts, is an almost cartoonish depiction of the film-maker Sean Wang’s grandmothers, who share a room, a bed and several fart laughs in their assisted living facility. They sing and dance; they exercise; they do laundry. Bless them; they read actual newspapers. They also straighten the shoes of the others living in their home, who we never see. Nai Nai and Wai Po live in a group home. But where is the group? Both grandmothers had very difficult childhoods due to war, and they are happy to be happy and to be together in their old age, even if they find fault in their grandchildren. When in doubt, toss money.
Directed by John Hoffman (“Fauci”) and Christine Turner (“The 1619 Project”), “The Barber of Little Rock” tells the story of Arlo Washington, a barber and entrepreneur in Little Rock, Arkansas, who teaches the art of cutting heads to anyone willing to learn, including an ex-convict trying to turn his life around, and who is the founder of a bank catering to people in difficult economic circumstances. In fact, Washington’s bank is in a converted shipping container in the same parking lot as his barber shop. Washington reminds us that America has a “wealth chasm,” not a wealth gap. There are almost no banks or ATMs in Little Rock’s Black neighborhoods, which were “red-lined” and where the interstates were built through and houses lost to “eminent domain.”
The island in S. Leo Chiang’s “Island in Between” lies between Taiwan and Mainland China, which can be seen a few miles away looming across the water. The islands comprising Kinmen off the southeastern coast of the People’s Republic of China are governed as a county of Taiwan. Chiang discusses the history of Kinmen, its mandatory military service and lets us hear a patriotic song with the line, “Destroy Mao.” We see a rusted tank, old mortars and a giant cement speaker that blinks colorfully and still plays music across the waters. The question of identity is a thorny one in Kinmen. Chiang (“Our Time Machine”) could have done more to provide context for those unfamiliar with the history of the island and its relations to the PRC and ROC of Taiwan.
Produced by MTV Documentary Films, “The ABCs of Book Banning“ takes a unique approach to the question of banning books in American public schools. The film, directed by Sheila Nevins, Trish Adlesic and Nazenet Habtezghi, gives the children ages 7-10 affected by such bans the spotlight, allowing them to speak their minds. We also hear from such people as 100-year-old Grace Lynn, whose husband died fighting the book-burning Nazis in World War II and from former Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman. The result is a ridiculously articulate debate.
Directed by Academy Award-winner Ben Proudfoot (“The Queen of Basketball”) and filmmaker/composer Kristopher Bowers, “The Last Repair Shop” depicts a workshop where four uniquely gifted individuals keep the schoolchildren of Los Angeles supplied with working musical instruments. L.A. is one of the few cities to continue to do this since 1959. How do you repair a broken peg? Does your cello buzz? You never know what you’ll find in a kid’s tuba. For these workers, repairing musical instruments is a holy calling and lifelong source of joy and inspiration.
(“Academy Award-Winning Shorts: Documentary” contains mature themes)
“Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Documentary”
Rated R. At the Coolidge Corner Theater
Grade: B+
[ad_2]
