Saturday, December 12, 2009

Short Films: One Too Many (Éramos pocos), Helmer & Son

Éramos pocos (One Too Many), Directed by Borja Cobeaga

There are some short films that I've really enjoyed. Since I've done some posts about aging, this one seems appropriate for the blog.

This one is a 2005 Academy Award nominated short film from Spain. I'll give away some of the plot, but not the ending.

The one I saw was in Spanish with English subtitles.

When the film starts, a man is waking up and discovering that his wife's left him. He has a teen-aged son.

The two of them aren't able or willing to care for themselves and their apartment.

Dad goes off to the nursing home to retrieve his mother-in-law and bring her back to care for them. Her meals are delicious. She takes good care of them and the home.

This film is under 30 minutes long. It's poignant and funny with a twist of an ending.

This is on a DVD collection of 2006 Academy Award Nominated Short Films that's available at Amazon. I first saw it on one of our favorite PBS shows, Image Makers. Check your local PBS station to see if you get that show. They may replay it. They feature some terrific short films from all over the world, many are Oscar winners and nominees. Academy Award Nominated Short Films

The Amazon DVD also contains the Danish short, Soren Pilmark’s Helmer & Son, which I look forward to viewing.

The film is described this way: A son is called to the rest home where his recently admitted father has locked himself inside a closet. Distinguished by a good dialogue, the short provides an insight on the relationship of father and son. *There is more that's said about this one, but it gives some of the outcome away.

In Hamlet, Shakespeare said that brevity is the soul of wit. There's something particularly wonderful about those who can create something fine, and do it in a short form.


Poster image from abandomoviez.net




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