Oscar nominated shorts: Documentary

I have seen all the films in this category, so I'll offer short reviews of each followed by my prediction in the category.

Killing in the Name

The main focus of this documentary is a Moslem man whose wedding reception was at a hotel that was a target of a suicide bomber. The bomg killed his father, new father-in-law, and 25 other guests at the reception. He has devoted his life to convincing Moslems that terrorism is wrong. The film gains access to a terrorist recruiter, a father of a suicide bomber, and a school where two suicide bombers are celebrated. Some amazing and emotional footage was gathered with impressive access, with this man is its center. A very deserving nominee. Grade: A+

Poster Girl

This is basically a biography of a young woman who while in Iraq was photographed with two other female soldiers which became a recruiting poster for the US Army. Today, she is an emotional mess. Unfortunately, the film is a mess. What might have made a portrait of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome does not have focus, probably because the filmmaker got too close to the subject. Several graphic flashbacks of Iraq seem to rub our noses in the violene, but for what reason? The Iraq War was bad? That point has been made better by other documentaries. Heck, the Matt Damon film Green Zone did a better job. Grade: C-

Strangers No More

An emotional portrait of a school in Israel which specializes in welcoming children of all nationalities smartly focuses on a few students and their progress over one year. It is heartwarming, it is entertaining, but one question is not even attempted by this film which leaves it just short of the universal message it seems to be striving for: How is this school put together and how could its success be repeated in other schools? Still, what is in the film is always gripping. Grade: A

Sun Come Up

This is a portarit of a tribe in the South Pacific which has to leave its island home because the sea is rising, and its search for a new home. By smartly spending the first few minutes profiling the tribe and its home before detailing the search, we get to know these people and are invested in the struggle. The message about the effects of global warming smartly stays in the background, and the film is all the better for it. Grade: A+

The Warriors of Qiugang

This is a frustrating film, and not because of its subject matter, a Chinese town fighting pollution from a chemical company. The local farmer who heads the fight is as intiguing a person as in any of these shorts. But after a gripping half hour of the fight, a year is then skipped, and the ending is rushed. This has all the feel of a project which lost its funding, and that's too bad, because it results in a film which feels like a three act play where only the first act was filmed. Grade: B

As for the Oscar race, this category frequently is decided as much because of the subject matter as for the execution. So while I personally would vote for Sun Comes Up, I am predicting the other A+ film in my book, Killing in the Name Of, which has current relevance and is expertly made. Although if the voters vote for heartwarming, which has been known to happen, then Strangers No More definitely could pull the upset.