Review: Short Cuts Canada Programme 2

Every year, we see a programme (Canadian spelling, eh?) of short films from emerging Canadian directors.  Most of the films in this year's screening were decent, though nothing knocked my socks off.  Here are brief reviews of each the films we saw in this year's batch.

Tabula Rasa - Directed by Matthew Rankin.  A strange telling of people reacting in different ways to natural disaster, in this case flood.  Perhaps I'm dense, but I didn't quite "get it".  Nonetheless, there were some interesting images and subtle humor here and there.  My imdb rating: 6/10.

Solar Wind - This was a rather creepy tale of a mass cult suicide, drawing inspiration from Heaven's Gate and other cult suicides, the director creates great suspense and foreboding with sparse dialog.  The film made me think of early David Lynch.  Rating: 7/10.

The Fuse: Or How I Burned Simon Bolivar - Directed by Ian Lagarde, this film is essentially a short documentary.  Relying primarily on footage from family and friends, it explains how, as a boy, Lagarde thought that he caused civil war to erupt in Bosnia by performing poorly on an art assignment in school.  I liked the film for its personal treatment of a subject which my only previous exposure consisted of the nightly news, and how that subject looked through the eyes of a young boy. Rating: 7/10.

Afternoon Tea - DJ Parmar directs this tale of a boy who seeks out his grandfather, an elderly Indian man who has cut off ties with his daughter due to cultural disagreements.  Apparently, the man doesn't know what his grandson looks like, and the boy claims to simply be a kid who needs to use a phone to contact his parents.  He goes on, though, to probe into the man's family.  The script felt a little contrived, and I felt the film landed a little flatly.  Rating: 6/10.

The Paris Quintet In Practice Makes Perfect - Benjamin Schuetze directs and performs along side four other sharply dressed men in a strange apartment, apparently in the sea, completing one another's actions with precision.  The effect is amusing and intriguing to watch.  The unanswered question from the Q&A: Is it really five guys, or just one guy with multiple personalities?  Rating: 7/10.

The Pedestrian Jar - Evan Morgan directs this short mockumentary.  You have perhaps experienced an office that collects money from associates who are late to a meeting, swear in a meeting, etc.?  This film twists that around into a hilarious public service announcement.  Employees in this office deposit a quarter into the jar for each pedestrian they hit on the drive to the office.  Bicyclists?  $0.15.  This was probably not the most challenging material, but it was executed well, and the result is very funny.  Rating: 7/10.

Sorry, Rabbi - Mark Slutzky directs this odd but funny short, which combines romantic comedy with misunderstanding between Josh, the romantic male lead, and a small group of Hasidic Jews.  They believe Josh has purposely struck one of them with an object in the head, causing minor injury.  It's up to the rabbi to sort through the information, determine the truth, and ultimately negotiate an acceptable outcome.  Josh, meanwhile, also needs to save face with his girlfriend, who he has given a rather unacceptably romantic anniversary gift.  Rating: 7/10.