The New Tenants (2009) Reviews

• Really enjoyed this one

  xdsi972011-09-26

  This one is so different from the typical award winning short films! Over the years I've noticed that short films screened at film festivals and the like are usually emotional journeys - but not this one... This one is an excellent dark comedy, an action-packed roller-coaster. It started a bit slowly, and I thought this was going to be another one of those mindless conversation short films, and wasn't sure where this movie was going, but I was rolling on the floor laughing by the time Kevin Corrigan's bit was done... Very good performances. Watched a pretty poor quality print on YouTube, so not sure of the actual camera work... The dialog is fast- paced... And the movie gets better as it progresses. Highly recommend it to everyone. 20 minutes well spent!

• Really good!

  CultcinemaDOTnet2010-03-10

  Of all the films which were awarded and nominated for an 2010 Oscar, none were more deserving than this. The plot is very very simple: Two guys moves into a new apartment and get to know their neighbors. And that's all that's going on. Yet clever writing, great acting and beautiful shots turn the movie into a 20 minute journey of pure enjoyment. The rather dark humor wont give you belly laughs, but will draw an evil grin upon your lips. If you are angry Avatar didn't win the award for best film this year, you probably wont understand why The New Tenants won the award for best short. But if you thought No Country for Old Men was right to win last year, you'll certainly appreciate this as well.

• Drama or dark comedy?

  Horst_In_Translation2016-03-14

  It is your pick to make as what you see "The New Tenants". This is a 20-minute live action short film that won the Danish filmmakers an Academy Award. But the language in here is only Engllish, don't worry. No subtitles needed. I myself am a huge Vincent D'Onofrio fan, so I won't have to tell you which part of the film was my favorite. It was a pretty decent watch from start to finish as the local neighborhood introduces themselves to the new tenants. This little film is really more about the supporting characters than the duo that is in here from start to finish, even if these supporting characters keep falling like flies. Or maybe because of that. I recommend this film. Not sure if I would call it Oscar-worthy, but it certainly is a good watch. Lets go with Oscar nomination worthy.

• Very uneven and not especially fun to watch.

  MartinHafer2010-02-27

  I am going to say something rather radical. Over the last several years, I've gone to the showings of both the animated and live-action short films that were Oscar nominated. For the first time ever, I went to a showing and didn't particularly like any of the films--as was the case with the live-action ones for 2010. I didn't think any of them were bad but i also didn't think any were Oscar-worthy--and most of them were amazingly unpleasant--like the Academy deliberately tried to pick the most unpleasant films they could this year. Perhaps 2008-9 was a poor year for live-action films or perhaps this just shows a bias of the people picking them. However, I can't see the public in general enjoying most of the films or wanting to see them. "The New Tenants" was a frustrating film to watch. In some ways it was quite enjoyable and well made but in other ways it made me frustrated at the viciousness of the movie as well as the poor ending. The film begins with two new tenants in an apartment "enjoying" a quite moment together. One of the men seems very obnoxious--smoking when his partner begs him not to as well as talking non-stop in a funny but really annoying dialog that is 100% pure cynicism. It's obvious the quiet man hates him and they seem to have nothing in common and no chemistry--though it turns out they are gay lovers (this made no sense). I actually LIKED watching the obnoxious guy. He seemed like a horrible person but was funny in a dark way. Into this hellish relationship arrives an elderly neighbor. She tells him about the previous tenants who were murdered horribly--right there in the apartment. She also wants to borrow some flour and the nicer tenant gives her a bag of what appears to be flour that was left by the old tenants. Little did they know that this would set off a chain of very, very bloody and murderous events. In fact, once the chaos begins, it's all incredibly awful and anything but fun--which is tough, since this is supposed to be a comedy. Now despite this, it still could have been a better film had it ended on a funny note--such as one of the men saying to the other "Okay...next time I'LL pick the apartment" or having them hit by a car as they danced into the streets. However, the ending, as is, made little sense and seemed flat. Of course, considering it was Oscar-nominated, what does my opinion really matter? Somebody must have really liked it. By the way, if you do watch this one, pay close attention to the cigarette. In a slight continuity problem, it goes from long to short again and again in one scene---even though it's supposed to be the same cigarette. UPDATE (3/7/10): Well, what do you know--this film won the Oscar. I guess other people saw something her that I just didn't. At least I got the Best Animated Short pick correct!

• Funny and disturbing short where most of the cast chews the scenery!

  llltdesq2014-03-15

  This short won the Academy Award for Live Action Short. There will be spoilers ahead: This short is a very dark comedy all about a couple who have just moved into an apartment. When they aren't irritating each other, they're being annoyed, disturbed or frightened by a variety of visitors, the most "normal" of whom is an annoying busybody grandmother type hectoring them for flour while talking non-stop. Along the way, they make the acquaintance of a jealous husband with extremely poor judgment and timing, a very angry and comical drug dealer and the jealous husband's wife. These visitors interact with the "new tenants" and each other in ways which will make you think twice about ever answering the door again. I can't remember a short film with so many bizarre, disturbed, disturbing characters per square inch! The ending is appropriately absurd yet charming. This short is on DVD and Blu-Ray from Shorts International as part of a compilation of live action and animated Oscar winning films. The disc is very good and this short is well worth watching. Recommended.