Just as many expected, Argo took home the top award of Best Picture at the 85th Academy Awards, despite Ben Affleck not receiving a Best Director nomination, something that has only happened four times in 85 years. It was a year for records as Daniel Day-Lewis winning Best Actor for his role in Lincoln means that he is now the only person to have won three Best Actor awards in Oscar history. Also, the first time since 1969 there was a tie for a category (both Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty won for Best Sound Editing).

Even though Argo walked away with the top honors and two other awards (Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing), Life of Pi was the film that took home the most awards this year with four wins (Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Score and Best Visual Effects). And while Lincoln had 12 nominations, the film only ended up winning two awards (Best Actor and Best Production Design).

List of 2013 Oscar Winners:

(The winners are highlighted in bold red font)

Amour
Argo
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Michael Haneke – Amour
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Ang Lee – Life Of Pi
Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook

Denzel Washington – Flight
Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Naomi Watts – The Impossible
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings PLaybook
Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty

Alan Arkin – Argo
Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook

Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables
Sally Field – Lincoln
Amy Adams – The Master
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Jacki Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook

Michael Haneke – Amour
Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained
John Gatins – Flight
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty

Chris Terrio – Argo
Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
David Magee – Life Of Pi
Tony Kushner – Lincoln
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook

Amour
Kon-Tiki
No
A Royal Affair
War Witch

Seamus McGarvey – Anna Karenina
Robert Richardson – Django Unchained
Claudio Miranda – Life Of Pi
Janusz Kaminski – Lincoln
Roger Deakins – Skyfall

Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band Of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph

5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How To Survive A Plague
The Invisible War
Searching For Sugar Man

William Goldenberg – Argo
Tim Squyres – Life Of Pi
Michael Kahn – Lincoln
Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers – Silver Linings Playbook
William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor – Zero Dark Thirty

Dario Marianelli – Anna Karenina
Alexandre Desplat – Argo
Mychael Danna – Life Of Pi
John Williams – Lincoln
Thomas Newman – Skyfall

“Before My Time” – Chasing Ice
“Pi’s Lullaby” – Life Of Pi
“Suddenly” – Les Miserables
“Skyfall” – Skyfall
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend” – Ted

Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln

Anna Karenina
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Mirror Mirror
Snow White and the Huntsman

Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables

Argo
Django Unchained
Life Of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty

Argo
Les Misérables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life Of Pi
Marvel’s The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White And The Huntsman

Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays At Racine
Open Heart
Redemption

Adam And Dog
Fresh Guacamole
Head Over Heels
Maggie Simpson In The Longest Daycare
Paperman

Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death Of A Shadow
Henry

Just by glancing over the synopsis for each of the five Oscar nominated short live-action films, you get the sense that you are in for a somber set of films to watch. One of the films (Henry) is about an 84 year-old man in a constant state of confusion as he battles Alzheimer’s disease while trying to hang on to the memories of love. Another film (Curfew) is about a man who is about to commit suicide because of his abysmal relationship with his sister. Overall, these short films pack an emotional punch in thirty minutes or less.

Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts Reviews

Asad
Asad is essentially a coming of age tale of a young boy living in a dangerous Somali fishing village who must decide between the life of being a modern day pirate, raiding ships like most of his peers, or going against trend by pursuing to be a fisherman. The young boy clearly wants to be a fisherman as he befriends an elderly fisherman who takes him under his wing. The only problem is the boy has never caught a fish, for which he blames on his bad luck. The best part about Asad is how concise yet comprehensive the film is by never wasting a single minute. Even though this Somali environment is incredibly hostile, the film chooses to not focus on the violence that could have easily over-taken the story if not handled properly. The film contains the best ending in the group alongside the right amount of humor and plenty of charm.

Asad

Buzkashi Boys
In a lot of ways Buzkashi Boys is quite similar to Asad; both follow young boys in foreign lands who struggle to achieve their dreams in life. Here, the coming of age story is about two best friends who dream of one day playing Buzkashi, a game of horse polo that involves playing with a dead goat. The first thing you will notice about Buzkashi Boys is how beautiful the cinematography is set in the contemporary Afghanistan city of Kabul. The film is an inspiring story about following your dreams and knowing where you stand in life. The one thing that I had a problem with is that it was slow to get to its point; something a short film should never have issue with. At the same time, it is not hard to see people falling in love with the film.

Buzkashi Boys

Curfew
What amazes me is how a film that is under twenty minutes can have such a wide range of emotions; dark and depressing, funny and endearing, yet ultimately uplifting, all at the same time. Curfew starts off with a middle-aged man with slitting his arm with a razor blade in a bathtub that quickly fills with his own blood. But interrupting his attempt at suicide is the red phone sitting next to the tub that starts to ring. It turns out that the person who saved his life is also the one responsible for nearly ending his life, as we find out when his estranged sister calls asking for him to look after her daughter for the night. The color red is prominently showing throughout the short; powerfully representing both love and death. Juxtaposing the grim tone is his nine year-old niece when she busts out a mood-changing dance sequence in a middle of the bowling alley. Do not be surprised if you find yourself laughing, tearing up, and cheering all throughout Curfew.

Curfew

Death of a Shadow
Death of a Shadow contains the most creative concept in the group of shorts, but unfortunately ends up also being the weakest of the bunch. After dying during World War I, Nathan is giving a second chance at life in exchange for capturing 10,000 shadows using a supernatural camera that is able to see what no one else can. Nathan tries to use this opportunity to seek out the woman he fell in love with before he died, but discovers that she has already fell in love with someone else. Death of a Shadow would have worked much better as a full length film instead of a short. Because of the short runtime, the viewer is not able to fully sympathize with any of the characters or to completely comprehend relationships that are shown. If this short ever becomes a full length feature, consider it one to keep an eye on. But until then, the story does not have enough time to fully develop to its potential.

Death of a Shadow

Henry
The gloomy color palette used in Henry perfectly conveys the turmoil state of an elderly man with Alzheimer’s who believes his wife disappears mysteriously one day. The film points out while living in a constant state of confusion is both frightening and heartbreaking; the most terrifying part about old age is the awareness of losing one’s memory. Henry would make a wonderful companion piece to another Oscar nominated film Amour, as they both feature the tragedy of memory loss and the powerful force of love. This heart-felt film benefits from the remarkable lead performance of Gérard Poirier, who gives the best performance out of all of the live-action shorts.

Henry

What will win

There are two films that have a good chance for their name to be called on Oscar Sunday and they are; Asad and Buzkashi Boys. If I had to choose one, it would be Asad because the ending is so memorable.

What should win

If it were up to me, my vote for the best live-action would be for Curfew. It was grim, depressing, funny, sad, and moving all at the same time but may be a touch too “edgy” for the Academy’s vote. Oddly enough, Curfew was the only one of the bunch that was best suited as a short; the rest would all make for better full length films.