by James Rosario and Edwin Arnaudin
James Rosario: A glaring problem with each year’s Live-Action short nominees is that too many of them feel like “proof of concept” projects. This year’s selection is especially guilty of this, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a lack of quality. A few of them, proof of concept or not, are genuinely quite good. One of them, however, I can’t help but feel bad for.
Victoria Warmerdam’s Belgium/Netherlands entry I’m Not a Robot might have been more entertaining if I hadn’t seen Companion just last week. The timing is about as unfortunate as it can get, especially considering the director would have probably jumped at the chance to turn this “I didn’t know I was a robot” story into a feature. It’s no one’s fault, but having seen Companion (and enjoyed it), I can’t help but feel that I’m Not a Robot is the lesser of the two similar plots.
Did you pick up the Companion vibes too?
Edwin Arnaudin: Most definitely. I too feel sorry for the filmmaker, seeing as her short debuted in September 2023 — though Companion was apparently greenlit that February, so who knows how the biz really works? It’s a clever concept and these things tend to come in twos (e.g. Deep Impact and Armageddon). Also, who among us hasn’t feared failing a CAPTCHA test? Does that little corner of a traffic light count? Is that a crosswalk or just some random lines? Uh oh…
There’s ultimately a touching revelation for the presence of AI in the male protagonist’s life, whereas Companion’s motivation is far more selfish, so at least I’m Not a Robot has that going for it. As you note, it’s yearning to be a feature, but not as desperately as The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent. Set in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993 — information presented in the production notes, not the film itself — Nebojsa Slijepcevic’s tense ethnic cleansing train-stop drama about the price of standing up to injustice makes effective use of limited resources, but runs a little too short and ends a bit too abruptly to make much of an impact.
James: The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent was my favorite of the bunch but it’s certainly hindered by a runtime that doesn’t allow for much insight into the specifics of its story. For some reason, I’ve always had an unusually intense interest in the Bosnia/Herzegovina conflict so it piqued my curiosity as soon as I realized the setting and then didn’t let go. I’d be quite interested in a more long-form and in-depth film about that era.
I also liked Anuja from India. It managed to pack a lot into its twenty-two minutes as a pair of sisters navigate the exploitative working conditions they’re forced to endure just to survive. But what I like most is that, despite the harsh realities of the story, it isn’t a downer. It’s actually quite whimsical and mischievous thanks to the strong direction of Adam J. Graves and the likability of its leads. Anuja, I think more than the others, stands on its own two feet and doesn’t make us beg for more information.
Edwin: It’s a charmer for all the reasons you mention. But after a terrific build-up it just sort of…ends.
Having an Indian sweat shop drama alongside one about wildlife poaching (Cindy Lee’s The Last Ranger) made me feel like I was back in elementary school, learning about disturbing global issues from a National Geographic documentary. I guess kids today have a TV in the corner of their classroom and don’t get to experience the joy of a tube screen wheeled in on a multi-level cart with a VHS and/or LaserDisc player on the lower tier. All that to say: both films feel a little dated and obvious, but are clearly still relevant and necessary.
However, none feels as bracingly contemporary as brothers Sam Cutler-Kreutz’s and David Cutler-Kreutz’s A Lien. With ICE activity and deportations ramping up under the second Trump presidency, this well-made, suspenseful tale of a family’s eventful green card interview couldn’t be more pertinent. I’m willing to put money on it going home with the Oscar — or do you think one of the other activist tales stands a chance?
James: The Last Ranger feels like something from a bygone era, for sure. It’s a good story but its editing is choppy and the pacing is all over the place. Every time I see something like this it just breaks my goddamn heart, so I guess it’s effective on some level, but not quite enough for me to take anything substantial home from it. The little girl in the lead role is fantastic, though. Put her in more movies!
A Lien just about gave me an anxiety attack and, unlike I’m Not a Robot, its timing couldn’t be better. Similar to the documentary short Incident (we’ll get to that one later) I wrote in my notes “fuck cops.” Sorry not sorry to any Blue Lives Matter folks who might be reading this, but this Gestapo bullshit needs to stop and I think deep down you know that.
As far as the Oscar goes, I think it’s between A Lien and Anuja, with the former slightly ahead in the odds. Hollywood is known for its hollow political gestures, after all. On the other hand, it likes to give itself the warm fuzzies sometimes too, hence the possible Anuja win. Either way, I think there’s more here to like than not so I’ll give this year’s hopefuls an above-average B-plus.
Edwin: Other than A Lien, none of the nominees feel all that well-developed — but none of them are downright bad, either. Still, inspiration is generally lacking from this bunch, so I lean towards a B-minus.
Originally published by ASHEVILLE MOVIES.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.