A friend who's a member of the Motion Picture Academy and participates on the Documentary Committee (among others) sent me a link to a short documentary film he loved that got nominated for an Oscar this year. It only runs 25 minutes and is available to watch online from, of all places, The New Yorker magazine. The short film is called Haulout, and follows a lone marine biologist who lives up in the bleak, desolate Siberian Arctic and studies how warming seas have impacted walrus migration. While I'm sure that that description might have you scratching your head, know that it’s extremely good and beautifully made, just tremendous cinematography. The film is very low-key, has almost no dialogue (except when the guy occasionally talks into his tape recorder) and is profoundly leisurely, because that’s the life he leads. But there is much in it that is superb. I don’t want to say more about why, since there are a few sort-of surprises. All I will say is that if it starts slow for you, give it at least 6-1/2 minutes. That's all. And if if hasn't grabbed your interest by then, fine, sayonara. But you will stick with it at that point, I’m sure. Absolutely sure. (If you want to read more about the world of the film and how it was made, this here is an article about it in the New Yorker.) As I said, the New Yorker made it available on their YouTube page. In fact, they did so three months ago, and I only found out about it yesterday.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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