Delven Shaw
BOYS and JUST BOYS, one good, one great
JUST BOYS is a ten-minute film from Germany by writer/director Brian Andrew Hose that you might wish would be expanded into something more. Adam (Konrad Muschick) and Isaac (Rémi Pradère) spend a summer afternoon in the public park, smoking, laughing, sharing a beer. There is a connection, but will it turn into something more?
Hose’s work is simple, honest, straightforward, and the two stars bring winning integrity to the film. For 10 minutes, we are young again, believing and hoping.

On the other hand, BOYS is a fully developed and powerful short from Israel and packs a lot into 13 minutes.
Even though he lost his father to war, Nadav wants nothing more than to serve as a combat soldier in the army. Since he is learning Arabic, the army recruiter and his mother believe he should take an easier path into intelligence work. No one needs to mention that he is more delicate than the other boys at the signup.
Eitan Gimelman plays Nadav, with his skin hunger burning through his eyes. Itamar Eliyahu plays the sexy coach. The writer/director is Lior Soroka, and the entire team does lovely work.
BOYS can be seen on Dekkoo, or rented at Vimeo for $1.99.