Helium is an Oscar nominated short film that deals with fears, dream and imagination. The short film is on of the best of the year and is completely worth the watch.
Helium follows a little boy in the hospital listening to a story about an imaginary land called HELIUM. The person who is telling the child the story is the hospital janitor. It helps brighten the sick little boy's life as he pretends to know a new place.
I watched all of the Oscar-nominated short films in one sitting. While they were all interesting, Helium was, by far, the one that touched me the most. It was incredibly heartwarming and sweet. It is a film that appeals to everyone. The janitor telling the story was the standout actor. He came off as eccentric as well as loving and mature.
Helium was the perfect length. It was strong as a short film but, if the story was extended any further then it simply would have become too immature and sickly sweet for any audience. It found a way to tell the story and impress the audience in a short period. I am impressed that the writer found a way to fit it in in the right amount of time.
The only thing that holds Helium back is the little boy in the hospital aspect. It seemed too easy and pandering to have the story told to a sick little boy. It may have been the writer's use of a metaphor that I just didn't get.
Helium is not in English. The characters spoke Danish and the film had subtitles. That didn't bother me. The cinematography was so excellent that words weren't even needed to understand what is going on. They built the entire HELIUM world without needing a word. It is absolutely wonderful.