Get inside Oscar’s shorts

Not many of us know or care about that certain moment every year during the Academy Awards when the short film winners are announced. This year, however, MUSE had the pleasurable and rare opportunity to see some of the nominees at the Coolodge Corner Theater. We feel it is our duty to give you some sort of clue about these great films so you aren’t so apathetic about the Oscar shorts this Sunday.

Best Animated Short

“Father and Daughter”

The animated short “Father and Daughter” tells the story of a close bond between a young girl and her father. The two characters travel across the Dutch countryside on their bicycles, and one day we see the father say goodbye to his daughter. He gets into a boat and rows into the ocean as the daughter sadly watches from the shore. The film then follows the little girl through the rest of her life bicycling on the same course as she did with her father. We see her fall in love, have a family and grow old. At the end of the film, we see the old woman crawl into an abandoned boat and curl up with the obvious memory of her father in mind. The short is a bittersweet and moving tale set in somber brown and black tones. “Father and Daughter” marks director Michael Dudok de Wit’s second Oscar nomination.

— Kerri Chyka

“Rejected”

One of the lowest budgeted films ever nominated for an Oscar, Don Hertzfeldt’s “Rejected” may also be one of the most warped. Hertzfeldt is a master of stick-figure animation, and has created several memorable works like the animated mocumentary, “Lilly and Jim.” It won him a cult following, but also caused him some frustration as it took seemingly forever to finish. The process of syncing the sound proved to be difficult that his follow-up “Billy’s Balloon,” one of the most disturbingly funny cartoons ever made, featured no dialogue. “Billy’s Balloon” opens with a Hertzfeldtian “cute kid” sitting around with a balloon, then the balloon starts to beat him up. This truly bitter piece of work furthered Hertzfeldt’s reputation as an icon of underground animation.

So, Hertzfeldt wondered, what if, based on the success of his previous films he was asked to create a series of short bumpers for the fictitious Family Learning Channel? The result was “Rejected;” a nine-minute package of hilariously incoherent and completely insane short bits. The first one, for example, features a character holding a spoon and saying “My spoon is too big” several times before another character comes out and yells, “I am a banana!” A Family Learning Channel graphic then appears. From that point on, the shorts get weirder and weirder and funnier and funnier. Hertzfeldt has a stupendously deranged sensibility and knows how to create bits that leave an audience laughing while marveling at the cartoon’s absurdity. Whether or not “Rejected” has a chance of taking home the gold on Sunday is yet to be seen, but for a film this bizarre and this funny to get nominated is a triumph. It is a credit to the Academy for recognizing such a brilliant piece of animated cinema.

— Nolan Reese

Also nominated in this category: “The Periwig-Maker.”

Best Live Action Shor

“One Day Crossing”

“One Day Crossing” is a heroic and moving tale of a Jewish woman struggling to save her son from persecution in 1944. The film is shot in a rugged 1940s-esque black and white and is in Hungarian, but both features add to the impact of the film. Mother and son change their names from Sarah and Benjamin to Theresa and Peter in order to pose as gentiles. In the process of saving her son, Theresa saves another young boy of a similar age.

— Breanne L. Heldman

“Seraglio”

“Seraglio” is quite possibly the best thing nominated in any category this year. The story follows a middle-aged fat woman in an OK marriage with an OK son and a great garden. One day she finds a love note in a head of cabbage and is convinced her newlywed across-the-street neighbor had planted it there. When she confronts him about it, he denies writing it, but accepts her “returning” the letter to him. The next day, he visits her in her garden and claims to have written it. Up to the bedroom they go, where they agree their rendezvous can never happen again.

Later, the woman is cleaning the porch and finds another letter under a seat cushion. “I know you wrote this,” she tells the postman, who denies it at first, but upon reading the letter, tips his hat and steps into the house. Just as audiences are wondering who actually is writing these letters, they see her at a typewriter.

— Breanne L. Heldman

The live action short “By Courier” is based on a charming short story by O.Henry. Two lovers who are not on speaking terms try to sort out their relationship with the help of a young rough-edged city boy acting as a messenger. While the lovers speak in elegant and verbose language, the kid translates into plain street terms when he delivers his messages.

The boy in the film is adorable, and all in all, “By Courier” is a sweet little flick that may touch the hearts of the voters.

— Kerri Chyka

Also nominated in this category: “Quiero Ser (I Want to Be…),” “A Soccer Story (Una Historia De Futebol).”

Best Documentary Short

“The Man on Lincoln’s Nose”

Forget the others nominated in this category. “The Man on Lincoln’s Nose” profiles the unbelievable production designer Robert F. Boyle, who has worked with directors from Alfred Hitchcock to Norman Jewison on films from “The Birds” and “North by Northwest” to “Fiddler on the Roof,” as well as the original “Thomas Crowne Affair,” to name a few. The Academy will surely reward a documentary on one of its own.

— Breanne L. Heldman

“On Tiptoe: Gentle Steps to Freedom,” nominated in the Documentary Short category, is a look at the famed South African musical group Lady Black Mambazo and their leader and founder Joseph Shambalala. The film explores the African cultural origins of their music, the formation of the group and several live performances. Paul Simon makes several appearances throughout the documentary as well, he worked with Lady Black Mambazo on his acclaimed album “Graceland, “ and this collaboration caused controversy in South Africa. “On Tiptoe” is ultimately a moving and uplifting piece that just might bring home the gold.

— Kerri Chyka

Also nominated in this category: “”Big Mama,” “Curtain Call, “Dolphins.”