Synopsis
SARIA explores the unimaginable hardships that faced young female orphans at the Virgen de La Asuncion Safe Home in Guatemala, leading up to the tragic fire which claimed 41 of their lives in 2017.
Saria
2019 Directed by Bryan Buckley
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OSCAR NOMINEE: Live Action Short (2019)
41 girls died in a fire because of assholes who worked at an orphanage in Guatemala. This is tragic but the film is only made so well... in fact it's not that great omg I feel so bad saying that. The story of the making of this film (real orphans playing orphans) is far superior to the actual film and that's a shame. I'm glad this got nominated and gave these girls a spotlight but it is probably my lowest ranked of the short live action films.
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I had no idea that this event happened until I saw this and I’m heartbroken by it. I do think this story was rushed but it did a good job of establishing the characters and the setting really well which made its ending more impactful. It’s one thing to hear about it but it’s another thing to see how these girls live and hear their dreams for the future only to end in tragedy. This was a tough watch with a haunting ending.
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This short film tells a small but emotional story of an escape and later tragedy of a group of young girls. It's horrific what happened, and the story does a good job of showing that, but everything leading up to the escape and final moments feel lackluster. It feels like something is missing from there, something that I should be seeing to feel more invested. It's shot decently well with some good acting, but I feel like the editing is what let this movie down.
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This troubles me because it is a strong topic that everyone should be talking about... but I can't take it seriously.
As a Spanish speaker, listening to the script and the acting of everyone was painful. I couldn't believe or take serious any of the actors. Production was great, and the timeline wasn't that bad... but the script was just terrible. Maybe, if you are just reading the subtitles you wouldn't mind how they are talking but for me, their tone and the lines were too fake.
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Oh gosh, this absolutely terrible what happened to those girls. I hope that this short helps spread awareness of this incident. It makes it even better that Orphans were the ones acting in this.
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It was rushed a lot and I would prefer more characterization. The fact that this is based on true story is an absolute bummer.
Best live action shorts ranked:
1. Neighbors' Window
2. Une Soeur
3. Nefta Football Club
4. Brotherhood
5. Saria -
I really, really don't think this was the best way to tell this story. I admire what it's trying to do, but I just can't agree with it.
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“Saria” suffers from similar issues that befell its fellow nominee “Brotherhood”, namely a rushed dramatic escalation brought on by time constraints. The difference is that in “Brotherhood” the short running time required characters to behave irrationally to reach the desired conclusion. Here, the whole product just struck me as choppy and poorly assembled. That is especially unfortunate because the easily avoidable deaths of 41 girls at the Virgen de la Asunción Safe Home in Guatemala in a fire is a real story that transpired in 2017 and there is an obvious scandal not far beneath the surface about the mistreatment of children and the inexcusable disaster response that resulted in the locked room they were in only being opened after…
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When making a film about real horrific events, it's crucial to do justice to it no matter how brief the running time is. The worst mistake a filmmaker can let happen is the film becoming a caricature of the events, and that's what Saria is. Despite how much this short wants to proclaim itself as a true story, there's nothing believable about it throughout the running time. While I can tell this film didn't come from a malicious place, the result still leaves a sour taste in my mouth; it should've either been a documentary or given to someone else.
The script is the worst aspect, and it drags every other element down along with it. It's almost as cartoonish…
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Like Brotherhood I think that this would work better as a full length movie. But I also kind of want it to win because I want this story to be told, and I think that it could get picked up in to feature length if it wins.
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Not far in and we were already sensing that a lot of these Oscar Nominated shorts were not going to be a happy affair. A dramatization of what lead to the horrific 2017 Guatemala orphanage fire. A great cast of young actors.