A Year in Shorts Day 32: "A Greek Tragedy"

Something you have to accept when you embark on a quest to watch every film ever nominated for an Academy Award is that the Oscar so rarely goes to the right film. It sucks, but it’s something you have to accept. Braveheart did not deserve Best Picture over Sense and Sensibility. Rex Harrison did not deserve Best Actor over Peter Sellers, Richard Burton AND Peter O’Toole. Suicide Squad does not deserve to have won more Oscars than Singin’ in the Rain. This is just part of the game, and you just have to try and explain it away as best you can. But as far as I can tell, there is simply no reasonable explanation for why today’s film, A Greek Tragedy, deserved to win Best Animated Short over Luxo Jr.


(via IMDb)

Directed by Belgian animator Nicole Van Goethem, A Greek Tragedy follows the... well, calling it a story seems generous. Regardless, A Greek Tragedy is about three statues (carved to depict scantily clad women) trying (and failing) to hold up a crumbling roof. It is, ostensibly, a comedy, and yet it isn't particularly funny. It struggles to even earn the right to be called mildly amusing.



I don't know, I suppose this short must appeal to someone, but darned if I can see why. It's just not very entertaining, and the animation is downright unpleasant to look at. It's certainly not the worst short we've looked at, but it's one of the most inexplicable. What about this made enough people vote for it to win the Oscar? What about it was even enough to get it nominated?

Ultimately, A Greek Tragedy belongs to that unfortunate category of shorts that just aren't interesting to talk about. At least La Salla had being aggressively annoying going for it. The only interesting thing about A Greek Tragedy has nothing to do with the short itself, and has everything to do with the fact that it somehow beat out a much worthier contender.

And if that's not tragic, I don't know what is.


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