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‘2025 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action’ Review: Optimism and Outrage Battle It Out in Solid Shorts Crop
The Academy likes to celebrate issue-based projects in its short categories, though this year's best is an apolitical take on artificial intelligence.
As it happens, the only nominee chosen solely on the strength of its filmmaking (as opposed to the worthiness of its activist cause) is Dutch writer-director Victoria Warmerdam’s ultra-clever 22-minute “I’m Not a Robot.” In a stylish modern office building, Lara (Ellen Parren) sits at her computer listening to a cover of “Creep,” a song whose lyrics take on new relevance as the film unfolds. By contrast, Cindy Lee’s urgent 28-minute “ The Last Ranger ” takes us into the proverbial heart of darkness — an African wildlife preserve where poachers deprive rhinos of their horns — and somehow manages to leave us feeling optimistic about a seemingly impossible fight. It’s easy to imagine the audience-friendly version of this story, but Lee admires the real-life sacrifice of such heroes too much to sanitize it, including actual footage of a rhino left for dead … and an uplifting reunion with that same animal over the end credits.
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