Will You Be My Valentines?

The day Blue Valentine came out, my boyfriend and I happened to be near Angelika Film Center at Houston Street. I had passed by this theater plenty of times in the past, whether it was because I was shopping or just strolling and having a breath of fresh air, but the idea of entering the theater and actually watching a film never had much appeal. I didn’t even feel like taking a few minutes out of my time to peruse through online reviews of these independent films. Why, you ask? Beats me.

Roberto, my boyfriend, had heard decent reviews about it, so we decided to watch it and boy, was I in for a surprise. The moment we arrived at the ticket booth, we could already see the colossal line before us. This line that we would soon join was so long that it actually snaked around the center of the theater, where a nice little cafe– complete with sofas, circular tables, and readers with books and muffins in hand– was located for moviegoers with time to kill. Now, I’m a big movie buff– I make it a habit of going pretty frequently (though lately I’ve been too busy)– but I found myself amazed that I had never thought of looking at this side of the tracks. There’s a whole new world in independent films that mainstream films just don’t reach. And I must say, I loved it and can’t get enough.

So, when I heard about these Oscar-nominated live-action shorts, I immediately thought of asking Roberto to come with me to watch them. We were originally going to watch it on the oh-so-beloved Valentine’s Day, an over-commercialized day where Hallmark is plump with the fat of cash from couples, but he figured we should watch it the day before instead of on Monday, so we wouldn’t be tight on time.

Before I launch into these Oscar-nominated shorts, let’s not forget that we didn’t want to be tight on time on Monday because we were doing exactly what the other couples were planning on doing. That’s right, I got the whole deal: the bouquet of red roses, the Hallmark card (with smudged, almost illegible handwriting writing…I hope he reads this haha), and an extremely filling eight-course Valentine-special meal for two ($75 per person) at an amazing Japanese restaurant called Zenikichi in Williamsburg. I definitely recommend it, if you want to eat a delicious meal.

Anyway, let’s rewind back (back to Sunday at 2:30 P.M, that is). 106 minutes later, between the five vastly different shorts from countries around the world, and I was left awed. I have watched shorts before, specifically online ones, but never with this level of professional skill.

I felt like I was on a high– it kept my emotions raw and I was so keenly attuned to everything that was happening both around me and in front of me. Afterward, Roberto said to me: “I think that the shifting balance of emotions that changed between films was the best aspect of the collection.”

I heard nothing else but the sounds from the films; there was absolute silence because everyone, including myself, was enraptured. Humans supposedly only have a focused attention span of eight seconds, so I think that all of us that day in that eerily quiet IFC theater broke the record. Now that’s an achievement!

So, despite knowing that Valentine’s Day has long since passed, my question still remains: will you be MY valentines, Oscar-nominated Live-Action Shorts? You guys really tugged at my heartstrings.