After some deliberation, I decided to review all of the currently available nominees for Best Documentary Short Film in one go. At this moment, How Do You Measure a Year is nowhere to be found. Of the remaining four, the two shortest are on The New Yorker and its Youtube channel, and the others are both 40 minutes long and on Netflix. Let's see how they are.
The Elephant Whisperers The first of the Netflix shorts follows Bomman and Belli, a couple from India's Kattuanayakan tribe, who work at the Mudumalai National Park. They're assigned to take care of an orphaned baby elephant, Raghu. We see them bond with each other, Raghu and Ammu, a second elephant they take on.
All of these relationships are endearing. Bomman and Belli's wedding ceremony is made glamorous with their charges involved. It's a bit tough when Raghu is transferred to another facility, but it ends nicely since he and Bomman still get to see each other. Meanwhile, Kartiki Gonsalaves' portrait of their tribal customs is fascinating to watch. We're perfectly reminded of the need to respect nature when we see elephants running around a city. Speaking of nature ...
Haulout The significantly bleaker Haulout follows marine biologist Maxim Chakilev as he lives in a hut on Cape Serdtse-Kamen surrounded by legions of walruses. They're not there by choice; the increasingly melting ice caps have left them with little else to go. Not surprisingly, not all of them make it.
The desolate cape filmed by sibling directors Maxim Arbugaev and Evgenia Arbugaeva is a perfect setting for a grim subject. We see hundreds of walruses amassed together trying to survive. They moan practically non-stop in a miserable chorus. One tries to enter Chakilev's hut, but he turns it away. A few walrus carcasses litter the beach, but a "dead" seal pup who turns out to be alive is a chilling jump scare. The closing text gives us much needed context. All in all, this short is a good motivator to not take nature for granted. You can't help but want to help those walruses.
The Martha Mitchell Effect The other Netflix short chronicles Martha Mitchell, the wife of John, Richard Nixon's campaign advisor, first-term Attorney General and a major figure in the Watergate scandal. Martha figured out early on that Nixon was up to no good, but she was written off as delusional. Eventually, the world realized how right she was.
Anne Alvergue gives us a strong portrait of the outspoken Martha. She's quite entertaining to watch as her outspokenness flummoxes the men at Washington. Her assessment of the Vietnam War ("It stinks") is downright charitable. John's attempts to silence "Martha the Mouth" only made her ready to speak out. We feel for her as she describes her mistreatment from medical and government personnel. We see her reputation dragged through the mud by the media. We see how much she got to Nixon through his and John's recorded calls. Her dying in 1976 while the men got off mostly easier is righteously infuriating. But it's still nice to see her vindicated. Overall, this short perfectly lets us into Martha's corner despite one's political leanings.
Stranger At The Gate I'm already convinced that this is the winner right here. In it, Josh Seftel chronicles Mac McKinney, a former marine who, just after 9/11, was convinced that all Muslims were the enemy. He decided to bomb a mosque in 2009 until its members, recognizing his misery, welcomed him in. Their kindness upended him, and, to this day, he is their friend.
We also learn quite a lot about the mosque and its members. Their leaders, Bibi and Dr. Saber Bahrami, emigrated from Afghanistan to the United States and embraced the American way. The Bahramis and their fellow mosque members were horrified by 9/11. They embraced peace with their community. We get to see how nice the place and its members are. It's a community welcoming of anyone regardless of faiths.
Meanwhile, Mac enlisted to soothe his directionless life. He left the marines an angry and confused man. He found it downright insulting to be living in the same town as "the enemy." He never expected to be welcomed by those he wanted dead. The mosque members even forgave him once they found out what he was wanting to do. You'll sympathize with Mac even at his lowest and wholeheartedly embrace his redemption. If only enough extremists could be thoroughly redeemed. Anyway, it's a compelling short that makes the most of its 30 minutes.
I don't know if I'll make that "mixed nuts" post I talked about last time. It depends on how many shorts show up on official channels. So, next time, individual pieces on individual films.
Tick tock, tick tock ... when are those other shorts coming?
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