Review of Short Cuts (1993) by Yury M — 05 Jul 2008

This is an Altman movie. Of course, it features interconnected and intertwined storylines, multilayered and overlaying dialog, inspired and entertaining ensemble cast, acute and delightful approach to human soul, atmospheric and playful mood, or I could have just avoided being redundant and left the characterization of the film at "This is an Altman movie". All his movies are at the very least great, but this is one of those in which he managed to outdo himself, not that I ever thought he had any limitations.

The movie is three hours long and it is not nearly enough. The sensation of watching it is very light, which doesn't mean that it doesn't deal with serious issues. In fact, the movie is quite disturbing, as we witness a murder, a suicide, a vehicular homicide, another victim of rape and murder, and indifference of some characters to it all, which is probably the most disturbing. The buildup and the resolution remind a lot of another excellent film Magnolia, which was no doubt inspired by Short Cuts. What one almost wishes for when watching this film is to have all this mess wiped out - all the affairs and deaths and hypocrisy and hospitals and bars and addictions and memories of them. How can a person hit a little boy with a car and not make sure that he is safe? How can a wife solicit sex-calls around her children and act like it is not a big deal? How can fishermen find a dead body in a river and continue with their fishing plans for the rest of the weekend? How can a mother care more about her jazz band than about her sick daughter? In the end, when the earthquake occurs, you almost wish for total destruction because it is hard to see any other resolution or consolation. But the earthquake subsides and life goes on. The hope of starting from scratch was just an illusion.