Fundamentally about human connection and loneliness, Aya is as emotionally profound as its premise is simple. The character of Aya embodies the contradictory ways that people both crave validation and reject it from the various people around us, perhaps in the way we might open up to a total stranger while remaining distant from those closest to us in life. The gradual process of discovering Aya's character is thrilling as we wonder why such a melancholy woman would make such a bold gesture or whether she plans to consummate the sexual desire that's an undercurrent throughout much of the film. It's uneventful while remaining enticing, and thanks to an alluring performance from Sarah Adler (at her best but before her more well-known roles in Foxtrot and The Cakemaker), Aya may leave viewers reexamining the relationships in their own lives as well.

“The Lights In The City Outshine The Stars” – Rory’s Way (Film Review)

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I'm surprised the 5 nominated short films were produced not in 2014 as expected but in 2012 for at least 2 of them. Were there not enough good films last year? Below, I review each film.

I can immediately tell you that compared to the 2012 and 2013 nominees, this year's selection is more conventional, less gripping, softer and less imaginative. It was still an interesting group of films but they didn't impress me as much as almost all of the films from the past 2 years.

Parvaneh - This film takes place nowadays in Zurich and follows a 17-year-old named Pari (short for Parvaneh) who is an illegal immigrant from Afghanistan trying to send money via Western Union to her family back home. She meets a girl slightly older who you initially think is going to steal her money but ends up being helpful, and willing to share and compare her life with her new friend.

I was expecting the worse with every development in the story. For example, Parvaneh goes to a nightclub, drinks and meets a guy. First I thought she was going to get caught in the club, second I thought the guy was going to abuse her. Well, she doesn't get caught but the guy does steal her money which she eventually gets back after her friend finds the guy. The film is not as dramatic as you would initially imagine which is good and bad. Good because the world needs more uplifting - but not sappy - stories. Bad because it's soft drama. Maybe I've become used to being surprised by strong acts.

Overall, this was a a nice feel-good story, a technically well-made film, and with good performances, although the actress who played Parvaneh was not always convincing. 

Butter Lamp - This French-Chinese short film is the most unconventional film of the selection. It felt like it would have belonged in a film festival like Cannes or TIFF because the Oscar short films are usually very strong narratively. Butter Lamp begins like a documentary film: a photographer is taking stills of a family in Tibet (or so it seems) and rolls down a different background for each shot.

Butter Lamp is filmed from one angle (as if the audience is the lens of the camera), and with only one camera movement (a zoom) at the end of the film. It's unconventional because the story arc is very slim and there is no central character to identify with. The film works because it shows the absurdity of each photo and is quite funny in that regard. Seeing an old Tibetan grand-mother being photographed against a sunny Caribbean beach is quite a sight. However, the film seems out of place in this selection. It's definitely intriguing and original but slow and repetitive.

The Phone Call - This is a short film with a top-notch cast from England. Sally Hawkins is a crisis center call agent. As usual Hawkins plays an awkward but very likeable character as she answers a distress call. We only ever hear the voice she is speaking to on the phone. Jim Broadbent plays that voice very efficiently. Almost all the action takes place watching Sally Hawkins interact with the phone.

Similarly to Paraveneh, I was expecting Broadbent's character to be more than what he seemed. A dramatic character à la Usual Suspects for example! But no, he is truly a man who just committed suicide 2 years after losing his wife to cancer and not being able to continue to cope that way.

As the film progresses, the dramatic tension increases as we hope Hawkins will trace the call and send an ambulance. 

It's a very well acted film, save for the first and final scene which were useless and look like sugar coating stacked next to a very serious subject. It's technically very well done.  And again, I was expecting higher drama, something more impactful. Don't get me wrong it is dramatic but not on a very high level.

Aya - Out of the 4 films, this is the longest and most intriguing one. I am not saying it's the best one. Actually, none of the films were superior to another which makes it very hard to pick a winner. 

This film is built all around a central female character named Aya who is 29. She is at the Tel-Aviv airport waiting for someone. A driver holding a sign for a passenger asks her if she can momentarily hold the sign while he helps a fellow driver. She reluctantly accepts. The person on the sign shows up and she drives him to Jerusalem. She doesn't tell him she is not her driver. Then the film takes place mostly inside the car as the 2 characters drive to Jerusalem.

Of course, as a spectator you can't wait for the moment when the passenger will finally learn that she is not her driver. The story could have been written by Amélie Nothomb. Aya's character is mysterious: why does she do this? Who is she? The dialogues in the car, the weirdness, reminded me of the Belgian author's stories.

However, the film suffers from being too slow at times. It's 39 minutes long and could have been 10 minutes shorter. The ending was disappointing. But overall it was an intriguing story and just like the other films, you expected the worse but it didn't materialize, no violence or emotional highs. Don't get me wrong: I don't expect every film to be emotionally impactful but with an Oscar selection I was expecting high calibre, strong impactful stuff!

Boogaloo and Graham - Finally, i think this Irish film will win the Oscar. I say this because a) it has two cute boys who raise chickens as pets, b) it's a nice-personal slice of life showing in Belfast in 1978 families tried to live happily despite a tense situation, c) it's technically well done. But again, and sorry for being so repetitive on this, it's not super touching or emotionally strong.

For some reason, the 5 films this year are almost the opposite of the 5 films from 2013 and 2012. In those years, the films were gut wrenching. Watching a film after another was like a roller coaster ride of emotions. It's hard to predict who will win but this was not a selection as inspiring as in previous years. That is not to say that these films are bad, on the contrary, but they seemed more tame and less imaginative.