Finding God in that hole

2013 Oscar®-nominated documentary shorts, program B

Crit

I still think the film about the blindingly optimistic 109-year-old concert pianist Holocaust survivor will win, because let's face it, the subject herself is just so much more engaging than Ra Paulette, who starts out seeming saintly but emerges as a prickly artist and borderline misanthrope, but Cavedigger gives you more for the eye and for the mind, and is probably the best film of the bunch.

Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall is pretty darned good, too: a look at the hospice program by which the Iowa State Prison not only has made the end more comfortable for the dying but has transformed inmates who volunteer as caregivers.

Click here for program A.