Day One (2015)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Of all the live action Oscar nominated shorts this one here from Henry Hughes is certainly the most unpleasant. It deals with a woman named Feda (Layla Alizada) who is on her first tour in Afghanistan working as an interpreter. She ends up at the home of a bomb maker where she's just expecting to translate but soon the man's pregnant wife goes into labor.
DAY ONE is a fairly grim and graphic tale that could have very well gone down the road of exploitation and been one of the more disgusting entries in that genre. However, it doesn't go down that path and instead turns into a pretty frank and brutal character study as we get to see various obstacles this woman goes through on her first day on the job. What really helps the movie are the terrific performance by the entire cast. It's certainly not a very easy film to watch but it really pays off in the end.
