Cinema 16: European Short Films

This 2-DVD disk set is available from Tuesday May 20th, 2008 in Canada.  CINEMA 16: European Short Films features acclaimed award winning rarely and never before seen short films by acclaimed directors that include Ridely Scott (Blade Runner) and Christopher Nolan (THE DARK Knight).

The total running time of this awesome 2-disk set is over three hours that include commentary from its directors.  This set has been described as ‘film studies in a box’ by the Sunday Times and by the telegraph as ‘a must-see for any film fan’.  I fully agree.  Though a mixed bag, I must say, most of the short films are excellent and provides glimpse of the works by many superb directors that many film goers might not be familiar with.  There are a total of 16 shorts altogether, hence the title CINEMA 16

A case in point and my favourite of the lot is Brit Andrea Arnold’s WASP.  Arnold’s only film that made it here to North America in limited release is her excellent RED ROAD.  WASP follows the heroine, Zoe (Nathalie Press of RED ROAD) as she ditches her four kids in order to have a fling with her ex (played by Danny Dyer of SEVERANCE) at a local pub.  Though Andrea displays conflicting natures of Zoe, Press is stunning as Zoe and the short is absolutely compelling and realistic.  Inlcuded is the award winning MAN WITHOUT A HEAD, the award winning French short by Argentinean Juan Solanas.  A few are too short to make an impression (Nolan’s DOODLEBUG) and many like MAN WITHOUT A HEAD are stylish though a bit too personal to make much sense.

CINEMA 16 comes with a 16-page colour booklet making the purchase the ideal collector’s item.