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Amos Lassen wrote on 10/10/2011:

Oracle Releasing gives us a compilation of nine short films abou t being young and what is so special is that each and every film is special. These films are by new directors and they represent seven different countries on five continents—Argentina, Israel, Japan, South Africa, Spain, The United Kingdom, and the United States. Because there is such diversity here, it is a special treat to watch these films.

“Deep Red” or “Adom, Adom: comes from Israel and is a quite a surprise and it shows just how far Israel has come in the film agency. Having lived in Israel and having known many of those in the movie industry I as quite shocked and pleasantly surprised at what I saw.Gur and Yuval want to move to Germany to start a new life. They are lovers but find that Israel is a bit constricting and they want a freer atmosphere to be who they are. They make money for their trip by hustling and robbing older gay men and at first they seem quite reprehensible. This kind of work wears Gur down and we see that he has some good qualities and he questions not only what they do but their relationship as well. The film is directed by Eddie Tapero.

“Frog in the Well” from Japan is an amazing visual experience in that it merges still photography with motion pictures. It is a beautiful story of a young man who is off to spread his mother’s ashes around the country`. As he travels he gains confidence and discovers Japan and her beauty and discovers that he has a passion for the world, Ken Ochiai directed this emotional journey to self and not only do we see a guy coming into his own but we get beautiful photography of Japan.

“Highway” or “KM 45” from Spain is a very graphic look at a yong man who has been knocked off of his motorbike by a passing driver who continued on and did not stop to help. Our biker is on a deserted road and we see him lying on the ground and with a bloody face. His loneliness is interrupted by a stranger that changes his life.

“I’m Julie” from the United Kingdom is about seventeen year old Julie whose mom does not understand her (like other 17 year old girls feel about their moms). Julie gets very nervous talking to boys and might even have “boy phobia”. She is a teen who struggles to fit into the world where she lives.

The United States gives us “Albert! Or, My Life in the Ocean” which is set in the American Midwest in the early 1960’s and is about a thirteen year old African American boy who dreams of becoming a California surfer. It is a beautiful tale that deals with love and abandonment and ascapism and surrender.

Also from the United States is “Carpe Millennium”, a comedy about a young guy who is set upon losing his virginity on New Year’s Eve, 1999 so he can be a man when he enters the next century. He feels he has to impress people so he lies about making a movie with a famous actor and the more he lies, the more women that become interested in him. However, just as he is about to score, the celebrity shows up at the New Year’s Eve party and his plan goes awry…or does it?

“Night Stand” is an American short film about Melissa who has been dating Jake for a few weeks and then finds another woman’s hair on his nightstand. She investigates it and ashe is in for quite a surprise.

“Amaina” or “Subsidence” from Argentina is about two brothers who work on a farm and they live with their mother whom is near death. They wait for the rain to stop so they can reap their harvest and the crops need to be harvested or they will be lost. They have to make a difficult decision—to leave their mother to die or to lose their crops because the rain is destroying them.

Finally “Small Change” from South Africa is a heartwarming look at mother and son. Josh is six years old and when his tooth comes out his mother tells him to leave it for the tooth mouse who will take it and give him some money. When he gets the cash he uses it to help a schoolmate which is not understood by his mother who thought he had spent it on sweets.

Just as we get diverse films, we also have diverse languages from Hebrew to Japanese to Englisn but there are subtitles so we do not miss a thing. I totally recommend this collection—it is ideal for picking one’s spirits up.