Here they are. All five of this year's nominees for the Best Documentary Short Oscar. Let's go.
Nai Nai and Wai Po (Dir. Sean Wang): We begin with this Disney Plus short, in which the director chronicles his grandmas - paternal grandma Yi Yan Fuei (Nai Nai) and maternal grandma Chang Li Hua (Wai Po). It's simply them living their daily lives in their shared home. They admit their "daily lives are pretty ordinary," but it's still fun to see them, for example, arm wrestle, watch Superbad and dress like hip teens. Mortality is on their minds, but they try to make the most of it, however long they have it. It's a simple story that will surely resonate with audiences young and old. Its final line makes for a great punchline. It's enough to make me think of my own Grandmas, who passed away when both were 97. I think this might win on Oscar night, but let's talk about the other shorts first.
The Barber of Little Rock (Dir. John Hoffman and Christine Turner): We switch to YouTube for the next three shorts. The New Yorker chronicles Arlo Washington, a barber who not only founded the Washington Barber College but the People's Trust Community Federal Credit Union, Arkansas's only Black-owned private bank. Both these institutions help combat the ever-widening racial wealth gap. We see Arlo and his staff lend a sympathetic ear to their customers, one of whom has several concurrent medical issues, as they help them out of their financial jams. That 95 percent of their loans are paid back in time is impressive, but it's astounding when Arlo talks about one customer who took out loan after loan and paid them all. The interviews with his staff and customers accentuate this compelling portrait of a great man.
Island in Between (Dir. S. Leo Chiang): The New York Times bring us this chronicle of Kinmen, the Taiwanese islands just six miles away from mainland China. The Islands are central to the ongoing territorial disputes between China and Taiwan. Chiang chronicles life living in Taiwan amidst these disputes. We learn plenty about his personal family history, the Taiwanese military preparing for the worse, and even about the Kinmen-Ximen ferry. The ferry requires Taiwanese citizens to have a Chinese-issued passport, as if their own Taiwanese passport means nothing. That's just one daunting aspect of living amidst the world's biggest custody battle. Chiang's climactic visit to Mainland China gives him and the audience hope that, perhaps someday, these disputes can be resolved peacefully. It may take some time to discern that message, but once you do, I think you'll feel its impact. It's an interesting documentary, overall.
The Last Repair Shop (Dir. Ben Proudfoot & Kris Bowers): Both directors, previously nominated in this category for A Concierto is a Conversation, are back with this short from the Los Angeles Times. In it, they chronicle the employees of warehouse that have maintained school instruments since 1959. We get to meet its small staff and a few students who have benefitted from their work. The personal stories of its staff form the meat of its barely 40-minute runtime. Paty Moreno, the Brass cleaner, was a struggling single mother; manager Steve Bagmanyan fled Azerbaijan to escape persecution; Duane Michaels, the woodwinds cleaner, once opened for Elvis after being scouted by Col. Parker. I could elaborate on them all, but it would take up a lot of time. The ending gives both staff and students a chance to record a symphony together, which makes for a satisfying ending to a compelling short. This is the category's other likely winner.
The ABCs of Book Banning (Dir. Sheila Nevins & Trish Adlesic): I had to get a Paramount Plus trial, via Amazon, to watch this short, just as I said I would last week. In it, the filmmakers give us the perspectives of multiple kids on recent efforts, mainly in Florida, to restrict or ban certain books from their school libraries. The targeted books mainly deal with racial and LGBT issues. The kids interviewed strongly disagree with these efforts; the targeted books taught them that hate is wrong, we should love one another, among other messages. These are simplistic messages that some people shouldn't be afraid of letting their kids learn.
The filmmakers show us a selection of books "restricted," "challenged" and "banned" in school libraries. Maus is a Banned Book, The Hobbit is Restricted and The 1619 Project is challenged. We get some animated and textual excerpts from a few other books. A few memorable sections are devoted to Little Miss Hot Mess's The Hips on the Drag Queen go Swish, Swish, Swish (a Challenged book) and Meena Harris's Ambitious Girl (a Restricted Book). The former, a parody of The Wheels on the Bus Go Round, Round, Round, is simply too silly to be offensive, while the latter's confidence boosting message is much needed. These books have value, as centenarian Grace Linn, whose testimony at a Florida school board opens and closes the short, asserted when she denounced the book bans. I wonder if it will be enough to change some minds. Maybe not.
The short film packages will play locally starting next weekend. I'll get to the animated shorts then. I got to prepare for my next feature review, and both its price and reputation are massive. That will be tomorrow.
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