Movie #1330 ........................."Enemies Within"

Movie #1339 "Enemies Within" is the last short action film that was nominated for an oscar this year, and it's the least of them, in my opinion.  It runs 25 minutes or so and it felt long because it was pretty static --most of the film is an interrogation scene with a non moving camera, reading subtitles like watching a tennis match.  I thought it went way too long.  The ending was okay, but this was I reacted to the least and would give it 3 out of 5 stars.  Once again, it is available on iTunes for a minimal price.  What I liked most about it is that it concerns extreme vetting and it shows how that works, and that topic is so topical right now.  That makes this film very important to see.



"ENEMIES WITHIN"    2016

ENEMIES WITHIN (ENNEMIS INTERIEURS)

Director: Selim Azzazi

In what could have easily been the most powerful, poignant short film of the year, ENEMIES WITHIN attempts to dissect the horrors of Islamophobia and the fear of extreme vetting. What starts as an innocent quest for French citizenship by an Algerian man ends in life-shattering blackmail. Director Selim Azzazi brilliantly executes two lengthy, compelling interrogation scenes, but his staging is rather elementary, playing out like a less fluid Asghar Farhadi film (mind you, that’s still a huge compliment). The camera is limited to standard coverage and Azzazi never takes advantage of the restrictive space in order to heighten the tension. Cutaways to flashbacks are an interesting idea, but take viewers out of the immediacy of the film’s urgent, devastating situation. As such, the success of ENEMIES WITHIN lies entirely in the performances. Admittedly, the two leads are great, but it feels like a missed opportunity not to take more advantage of aesthetic flourishes. What’s more, the division of the two separate interrogations breaks up the film in a rather unflattering way. As an extended play on loyalty and notions of liberty, equality, and fraternity, ENEMIES WITHIN is certainly some of the smartest short film writing I’ve seen in quite some time, but as a stage play-esque visual piece, it’s a far cry from the works of Sidney Lumet.