Tropic Sprockets / The Oscar Shorts: Documentary

By Ian Brockway

In recent years, the documentary shorts have been a decidedly somber and intense group, but in 2023, this lot is considerably lighter and more upbeat. [For showtimes and trailer check Tropiccinema.com.]

First from Jay Rosenblatt, “How Do You Measure a Year?” is a portrait of the director’s daughter, from the age of 2 to 17 taken from a series of interviews that become a ritual. At age 2, Ella only craves lollipops, and does not know the definition of the word “power.” Startling it is to see Ella at 12, mildly apprehensive and somewhat bored by her pre-teen life. Television is at the top of her list and she judges herself. Once Ella was innocent and cherubic. Now in her pre-teen years, she is alert and critical. The audience learns of her parental conflict which is universally part of life. Though she is plagued by abstract, worry and indecision, Ella still looks forward to the time honored ritual of a birthday interview and she loves her dad. This is a subtle yet striking film and is sneakily haunting.

Joshua Seftel’s “Stranger at the Gate” is a surprising portrait of an angry man infused with racism. Richard MacKenzie is a Marine with a past addiction problem who is still driven by hatred for “the other.” Now with a family in Indiana, he begins to see Muslims as the enemy after a chance sighting of a young Islamic girl in his daughter’s school. Mackenzie begins to plot a bombing of the town mosque. During preparation, the man goes to the mosque intending to research the location. A mosque member comes to the door, hugging the big shouldered and violent Mackenzie. Abruptly overwhelmed, the man stops in his tracks and the hatred evaporates. 

Mackenzie makes a friend of the man and converts to Islam. To see such a gruff and hard man become empathetic is magic. Compelling, direct and thoughtful, this film is a stand out.

From Kartiki Gonsalves, “The Elephant Whisperers” is a touching story about a couple from south India who take care of a baby elephant named Raghu. Both of them treat the elephant as if he is human (or at least human-like) and Raghu is clearly part of the family.

In another animal story, “Haulout” takes a surreal turn. Focusing on Maxim Chakilev, a biologist, the film is a miniature of Winter and solitude. One day, Chakilev’s squatting grounds are overwhelmed by thousands of walruses. The biologist can only wait for the sheer number of visiting animals to go on their way.Events seem semi fanciful, until one realizes that the reason for the animal visitation is grim a disquieting: climate change.

Finally, “The Margaret Mitchell Effect” is a detailed study of Margaret Mitchell, a Watergate whistleblower and the wife of then Attorney General John Mitchell. This is a colorful time capsule of an impassioned woman and a constructive troublemaker.

This year’s selection is sure to please and is a welcome relief to what frequently is a melancholic or even unsettling category.

Write Ian at [email protected]

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