Linkshoch
Wonderful Movie
Matcollis
This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.
Stellead
Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
Roy Hart
If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
Lee Eisenberg
Ivan Goldschmidt's Academy Award-nominated "Na Wewe" addresses the absurdity of conflicts about ethnicity. When Hutu rebels stop a minivan and try to separate the Hutus from the Tutsis, it proves hard to determine who's who since the people won't cooperate. This is an obvious reference to the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, although the setting isn't mentioned (I read that it takes place in Burundi). According to Paul Rusesabagina - best known for opening his hotel as a refuge for people fleeing the genocide - it was the Belgians who started labeling people Hutu and Tutsi. This just emphasizes the lack of logic behind ethnic conflicts.Good one. The title means "you too", which could also be U2.
doctorsmoothlove
It's the best of the nominated shorts, and the only of them that actually does something slightly innovative with its premise. A Rwandan caravan of international travelers is stopped by Hutu militants who threaten to kill anyone they suspect of being Tutsi. The militants aren't very good at sniffing out Tutsi, and consider nearly everyone as one of their own. The few who would be shot manage to escape by convincing their attackers that a Bono song is pro-Hulu. The farce works, albeit being completely unexpected, and disrupting the narrative.Recommended
Ryan Jafri
The film got me going. The cinematography was crisp, and I was really on the edge of my seat, anxiously awaiting the fate of the poor boy with the walk man. Unfortunately, said walk man was critical flaw of this film. Before viewing the climax, I had intended to rate this film at least a 9 on IMDb, but, unfortunately, that walk man and its involvement in the narrative ruined it for me ten fold. I mean, it felt like a commercial for U2! And the sight of those battle hardened soldiers dancing and smiling to music was quite difficult to bear. Up until that point I was ready to give this film a 9 on IMDb, but because of that cheese infested anti climactic ending the film received a 6.
MartinHafer
Well, I just got back from my yearly pilgrimage to see the nominees for the Best Live Action Academy Award. Compared to other years, this is an interesting field, as I actually liked all the films and see there being no clear winner. Usually I have at least a few of them I don't particularly like but this is a good crop...but there also is no clearly 'perfect' film as well. So, in light of this, my predicting that "The Confession" will be the most likely of the films to win is not at all certain--as I see this as mostly a three film race but any of the five could easily win."Na Wewe" is set in Burundi during the horrible tribal violence that took place there and in Rwanda in 1994. A van loaded with people is stopped by a group of armed Hutus who question them one-by-one to determine which are Tutsis so they can kill them. The film is very tense and compelling throughout.I liked "Na Wewe" quite a bit but think it's a dark horse in the Oscar race this year for several reasons. First, its topic would have been wonderfully timely fifteen years ago. However, as the genocide in Rwanda and Burundi happened back in the 1990s, the timing seems pretty late. Also, while the acting and direction were terrific, the story seems awfully sanitized. After all, estimates are that between 500,000 and 1.000,000 were killed during this ethnic cleansing--and most of these were hacked to death with machetes! Such viciousness is only hinted at in the film and you'd think the Hutu/Tutsi violence was bad but not that bad (it was like Hell on Earth). Just my two cents worth.I'll update all my Live Action Short nominees after the Oscars are awarded--we'll see who takes the statue.UPDATE: Wow, this never happens. I actually picked this category correctly. In a conversation I had with a friend who saw the films with me, I told him that although I thought "The Confession" was the best film that it and "Wish 143" were so similar in tone and style that "God of Love" would win. Insanely enough, "God of Love" won and I think my prediction was correct--something that NEVER happens!