Ave Maria

This film was made in the Palestinian territory and is a comedy about three Jewish people who become stranded there when they smash into a statue of the Virgin Mary at a small nunnery. The problem is that the nuns have taken a vow of silence and the Jewish folks are very observant...so strict as Jews that they cannot use telephones to call for help! What are they to do?

I enjoyed this film and it made me smile. I found the ending a bit predictable but a finely acted and clever short. While I don't think it's the very best of these shorts, it is unusual and sometimes happy films have an edge in winning simply because Academy voters seem to prefer nice shorts as opposed to down-beat ones...and three are very, very downbeat.

Whether or not this one wins, I'll update this review about this. If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on this short--though as I said I don't think it's the very best of the lot.

UPDATE: "Stutterer" took the Oscar for Best Live Action Short.