One of the best short fiction films nominated for an Oscar is The man who couldn't remain silent, a Croatian film of only fourteen minutes that takes us to a real massacre, that of Štrpcio. The one of February 27, 1993, during the Bosnian War, during a trip from Belgrade to Montenegro on a passenger train. Bosnian Serb paramilitaries stopped the convoy with the intention of identifying the identity and religion of the passengers. They killed nineteen people. Only one passenger, Tomo Buzov, stood up to the soldiers, and now the short film pays tribute to his gesture. It is an impressive story, very raw. It plays with the confusion about who will be the man who will have the courage to raise his voice, but also with the cowardice of the spectator, who projects himself in that carriage and thinks about what his conduct would be. Silence, as announced by the title, has a decisive weight in the emotion of the film. And there is a devastating circular plan. After the character played by Buzov gets off the train, the camera shows the interior of the carriage. We see the face of each of the passengers, we feel the fear and discomfort of that moment and, above all, the details of an empty seat. Also a newspaper on the table, the cup of coffee, the reading glasses... The objects acquire an imposing force. You can find the short film on Movistar+. Don't miss it.
On the same platform there are two more short films that are also nominated. A lien (Retention) takes us to the essence of Donald Trump's immigration policy. An American couple with a young daughter goes to the government office to get a green card for her husband. His parents were from El Salvador, but he grew up in the Queens neighborhood. The rush of everyday life for a busy young couple is mixed with the nerves and fear of bureaucratic procedures. All the action takes place in the same space and becomes a distressing and hostile place. The lack of protection of all citizens is evident, including those of American nationality. The film seeks to convey to the viewer the terror and cruelty of the system, although it does so in a biased way: an element that stimulates suffering consists of depositing part of the trauma in the most classic stereotype: a blonde mother who is undoubtedly American. As if skin color were the key factor for us to feel challenged by this injustice.
The other short film that is a delight is Beautiful men, in this case an animation production in stop motionThe three main characters in the story are three bald men, three well-matched brothers, who travel to Istanbul to undergo a hair transplant. The work of building the characters is wonderful. The narration is so delicate, so subtle, that it makes it very moving. From these three men a reflection on masculinity and vulnerability will emerge, which will provide the film with a very powerful subtext.
