For reviews of the 2020 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts, click here.

For reviews of the 2020 Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts, click here.

Edwin Arnaudin: I must still be reeling from the 2019 Oscar-nominated live-action short films, because when this year’s finalists were announced, I immediately thought, “Oof, I hope they’re not as heavy and depressing as the last ones.” Thankfully, the latest slate of five shorts features a decent amount of levity, though the gut-punches remain rampant. What stands out to you about them, which are screening at both the Grail and Pisgah Film House starting this weekend?

Bruce Steele: My favorite, although not the likely winner, was "A Sister," which has a terrific performance by Belgian actress Veerle Baetens as a 911 operator on the telephone with another woman who finds it difficult to verbalize her emergency. As in 2019, personal peril is a thread connecting many of the nominated shorts, although only one put children in real danger this year. What did you think of that film, the Guatemalan-set "Saria"?

Edwin: I agree that “A Sister” is quite powerful and, like a few of the nominees, one I wouldn’t mind revisiting. “Saria” is … fine. The fact-based story is well-made and nicely sets up the horrible day-to-day life at an orphanage from which two sisters and their friends seek to escape. But since its filmmakers apparently feel bound to stick to the facts, it also ends rather abruptly, which significantly lowered my opinion of it. I was even less taken with the other big dramatic entry, “Brotherhood,” a dry and rather obvious tale of a prodigal ISIS-recruited son whose return home with a child bride is met with harsh opposition from his disapproving father. Did either “big serious” film do much for you?

Bruce: I agree with you on "Saria," but I liked "Brotherhood" more than you did. I thought it painted a vivid portrait of its sheep-herding, freckle-faced Tunisian family and their everyday Muslim faith, something audiences aren't going to get anywhere else. Its measured pacing didn't bother me in part because it was so well shot and acted. Another quite different family is the center of "The Neighbors' Window," set in New York City. When overstressed parents Alli and Jacob start spying on their free-spirited neighbors, the homage to "Rear Window" is clear, but with a very different outcome. What did you think of the category's only U.S.-set nominee?

Edwin: It’s my favorite of the bunch. Relatable, organically funny, yet able to pull off a tear-jerking final stretch, it’s a joy to watch. I’m further impressed that it’s written and directed by Marshall Curry, who’s now a four-time Oscar nominee, following a pair of documentary features (Street Fight and If a Tree Falls) and last year’s Nazis-in-New-York documentary short “A Night at the Garden,” which I thought might be the front-runner until it came to a screeching halt. Will the fourth time be the charm for him?

Bruce: It could well be. It's beautifully made and speaks to Academy voters of almost any age, and it's got that "life as cinema" angle that Hollywood loves to honor. I think we can definitely rule out the fifth short, "NEFTA Football Club" — also set in Tunisia — as a likely winner.

Edwin: Agreed. It just kind of is what it is — a clever, frequently funny story of a cocaine delivery that winds up in the hands of two brothers with very different ideas on how to use the powder, but it has little to say about society or much of anything. I’m impressed that it progressed from the 2019 Manhattan Short Film Festival to an Oscar nominee, thereby giving greater legitimacy to that little-known enterprise, but a nomination seems like a sufficient reward.

Bruce: It's an honor just to be... Etc. So my vote for Best Live Action Short would go to "A Sister," for its tight storytelling, smart direction, and stellar central performance, but I have to predict a win for "The Neighbors' Window." It seems like the kind of classy production with a simple, universal message the Academy voters gravitate towards. The program as a whole I give an A-minus.

Edwin: I’m exactly the opposite! “The Neighbors’ Window” is my personal favorite, but “A Sister” is an opportunity for the Academy to atone for its lack of explicitly feminist nominations in the main categories — with a nod to #MeToo. Overall, it’s nice to move away from last year’s children-in-peril themes, but since those topics are still present in 2020’s least appealing finalists, I likewise give this year’s nominees a solid B.

Overall grade: B-plus. Rated R. Opens January 31 at Grail Moviehouse in Asheville and Pisgah Film House in Brevard.

(“The Neighbors’ Window” photo courtesy of Marshall Curry Productions LLC.)