The American gun culture is something that constantly comes under scruitiny here in the UK. Whether this be highlighted by television reports of sniper killings or drive-by executions or media rants by the likes of Michael Moore laying into soft/easy targets like the ever willing fall-guy Charlton Heston.
The images that are most stark in our minds though are those that involve the needless murders of children and the ridiculous laws that allow such attrocities to happen.
One such occasion was the Columbine High School shootings, when a large number of students and teachers were killed or injured by two of their own with weapons that they had easily obtained from their parents and internet purchases.
Director Gus Van Sant tries to show with 'Elephant' that such a thing can and does happen in the U.S with alarming ease and frequency, and that it could happen anywhere and at any time.
Elephant (2003) 18 Cert
121
Minutes
Cast : Eric Deulen, John Robinson, Elias McConnell, Alex Frost.
Available on imminent UK Video/DVD release.
To highlight the everyday nature of this movie 'Van Sant' decided to cast real students in the lead roles and even allow them to retain their real names throughout the production. This provides the movie with an erie and unsettling reality and must have been similarly unusual for the actors especially as the story turned darker.
We are introduced to each of the characters in a series of long tracking shots following them from room to corridor to room as they interact with their fellow students on what is an otherwise normal day.
We see each of these tracking shots from different angles and perspectives as they cross and the camera follows different subjects.
John for example is a bright laid back boy often late and in trouble for his tardyness and trying to balance school with caring for his drunken father. We follow John through the course of the day as he passes Elias a keen photographer, attends classes and eventually leaves school and passes the troubled Eric and Alex as they enter the fray to reap their mayhem.
Eric and Alex we have earlier seen (as the scenes do seem to cut about a bit) are outsiders within their own school and meet to plot one wonderous day where they can switch violent tendencies away from firing airguns in the forest and playing computer games into the night and live out their one true fantasy.
We see the two boys order automatic weapons over the internet with no questions asked as to age or licences. They then practice and kit up before taking off to school - this after sharing a somewhat surreal intimate moment together.
Upon reaching the school the boys divide and walk calmly from room to room shooting whoever they meet, as if playing a war game and one trying to achieve a higher score than the other.
The violence shown is not gratuitous as the camera tends to stay with Eric or Alex as opposed to the fleeing targets, and waits to acknowledge their facial expression to the evil deeds they are inflicting.
We see numerous tracking shots of individuals arriving in the wrong place at the wrong time as they seek to escape the shots ringing around the emptying corridors, until the boys meet again in the cafeteria jubilant with their experience - Eric then turns the gun on Alex and kills him.
This movie does not set out to explain why things like this happen or to make any authoritarian points of any nature. It just gives a situation and lets it run it's course, allowing us to accept the horror of the situation and make our own conclusions.
The story is a very slow build and the long tracking sequences can become tedious and repetitive, but the pace picks up considerably toward the dramatic conclusion.
The title is not explained at any time, but we can draw two analogies from what we see:-
Firstly, that people are sometimes killed for what can be obtained from them, in this instance the sick pleasure of seeing them die, in a similar way that beasts are murdered for their Ivory or skin.
Secondly, we need to be like the elephant that never forgets and remember the pain that is caused by these events and never let this happen again.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
i really wanted to see this at the cinema but didnt catch it. will definitely try to watch it. dearyxxx
disneyeyes 01.08.2004 16:22
Can I just say, I think your 'pro' that Elephant portrays the "stark realism of a true event" is a bit misleading, as the film is entirely ficticious - it was, of course, *inspired* by the events at Columbine but it is not in any way *based upon* them.
Elephant: Inspired by the tragic events at Columbine High School, Elephant won both the ... more
Palm D'Or and Best Director prizes at the Cannes 2003 Film Festival. Shooting on location in an everyday American high school, with a cast primarily made up of stud...
Elephant (2003): Winner of the Palme d'Or and Best Director prizes at the 2003 Cannes Film ... more
Festival Gus Van Sant's realistic drama takes us inside an American high school on one single ordinary day that very rapidly turns tragic... Last Days (2005):...
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Advantages: A look at a modern day problem from the perspective of those experiencing it Disadvantages: At some times slow, with long periods of focus on kids walking through halls with no action which leaves you wondering why you're watching at all. You know what is going to end up happening...
Advantages: A look at a modern day problem from the perspective of those experiencing it Disadvantages: At some times slow, with long periods of focus on kids walking through halls with no action which leaves you wondering why you're watching at all. You know what is going to end up happening...
![Elephant/Last Days [Box Set]-DVD](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/103397731.jpg "Elephant/Last Days [Box Set]-DVD")
Apr 27th, 2004
exceptional by (4%):
very helpful by (96%):
![Elephant / Last Days [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78496957.jpg)
