Elephant

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Leia R Mar 20, 2019 Interesting take on columbine

Kylo S Jan 7, 2019 I don't like to review films like "Elephant" because it is all about the feeling, the mood, the atmosphere created by the camera, the director and the actors. Everything is mundane and normal, until it is not. But the climax of violence is not the part that drags you in, the mentioned normality does, and the movie ends up to be so disturbing because of that reason too: there is no dramatization nor explanations, just the world we live in. See more

Hagrid W Apr 14, 2018 Elephant has become more timely than ever in an age where it seems there's a mass shooting every other week. It never has an direct messages like others will make, it only offers partial glimpses into perhaps why (Guns obtained too easily, violent video games, fascination with Nazis. It never offers heavy-handed "BAN THIS!" messages, just perhaps some influence in already troubled and disturbed minds). Elephant begins with a typical high school day, following around multiple students - the popular kids, the outcasts, the weird kids, the middle social status kids, etc. You've got family troubles, social troubles, or even just the mundane. Ordinary high school life with all the drama and weird moments that come with adolescence and figuring out your place in the world. But as this is going on, two students are planning to commit a school shooting. The film is never overwrought in its depictions of high school life or even when the dreaded moment arrives. It's a restrained film that presents those elements as is. The everyday of high school and the unthinkable horror of mass shootings as the duo remorselessly gun down fellow students and staff. It's a cold and disturbing film, but an important viewing, especially within our current climate. There are no simple answers - only tough, unanswerable questions for why this sort of thing happens. See more

Harry S Feb 24, 2018 What a waste of time. I cannot fathom why this movie has good ratings... Awful artsy pointless BS.

Theodore L Nov 24, 2017 This movie is unique from most other true story films, because of how simple it seems at first glance. It offers no insight into the mental state of the shooters, no clear answers as to what the motive of the shooters was, and no schmaltziness which any other director would've included. It simply has the viewer act as an observer as you watch the day unfold. The actual shooting doesn't happen until the final 15 minutes. The majority of the film before the final act consists of following several students throughout the school in multiple slow, drawn out long takes. Van Sant's decision to include these long takes helps to establish you as an observer as it seems like you're following them. I think this effect would be lost if it were shot in a conventional manner with traditional pacing. I've seen several critics and audience members puzzle over the meaning of the shower scene. In fact, I saw one person say that Van Sant was trying to pass the shooting off as a closeted gay rampage. However, I don't think Van Sant was saying that any homophobic angle was the direct cause to their violence. My interpretation on that scene and the scene of Eric playing a violent videogame was to reference the "Members of the LGBTQ community are violent" and the "Violent media causes real violence" arguments. While he didn't specifically say that any of those aspects (or the fact that Alex got bullied in school) is what caused the shooting, I think he was simply saying that while you can make guesses as to what the cause was, there's no way to know for sure what caused it. See more

Luke R Oct 10, 2017 If you are going to watch a good movie about A school shooting watch We Need To Talk About Kevin not this hunch of pretentious shit. See more

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Elephant

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