The short film gave birth to the cinema — the first narrative film, "The Great Train Robbery" (1903), is all of 11 minutes long, but the format is now in the shadow of the full-length feature. That is probably not going to change anytime soon, just as short-story collections are not going to replace doorstop-thick novels at the top of the best-seller list.
But as can be seen from the lineup of the 15th Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, Japan's largest celebration of short films, longer is not always better. Those who think of shorts as being the medium of the beginner will be surprised by not only the high technical quality of many entries (one example being the Pixar-like polish of Mark Nelson's CG comedy "The Jockstrap Raiders"), but also the sophistication of the storytelling. Yukinori Makabe's "Tokyo Sky Story," made to commemorate the festival's first anniversary of screenings at the new Tokyo Skytree tower, deftly weaves two storylines — one about a couple on the verge of a breakup, the other about two junior high schoolers discovering first love, into a lyrical climax, with Skytree serving as the perfect romantic backdrop. (Think the Eiffel Tower on the Arakawa River.)
Its other virtue, which it shares with many films on the program, is its lack of waste motion. Without feeling busy, "Tokyo Sky Story" says more in its 15 minutes than many an ambling feature. And if its entwined love stories are not to you taste? Another film more to your liking will probably be along — shortly.