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Where Are All The Parents?........

Gus Van Sant is a bit of a mystery. Even at the end of this film, throughout the credits and the "special features" contained on Elephant, he is never featured explaining any part of this movie.

Elephant could've easily been shown as a prescreening to Bowling for Columbine to show audiences what everyone suspected is happening in our high schools. There is violence, bullying, purging, sex and experimentation and a desperate cry for schools to take a more active interest in the students it houses. The film, like a large and heavy boulder starts rolling down the hill slowly (as we meet each of the film's characters) andgains momentum until the two main characters acquire guns and ammo from the internet and go back to their school to kill as many students as they can on a video game inspired "mission".

Their targets? People in authority, the jocks, the pretty girls and anyone else they feel have crossed their paths during their blastedly hellish high school experience. Of course, anyone else in front of their high-powered weapons does not stand a chance and there is much bloodshed shown.

Many of the "troubled" kids depicted in Elephant go home from school to empty family nests, parents are mysteriously absent throughout this film (unless they're drunk at the wheel) and kids don't seem to have very much to do, other than hang out and play sports.

Is this film that far from the reality of what exists in our schools today? I believe that this film won an award at the 2003 Cannes Festival because it rings many truths in it's acute commentary of how lonely and isolated our teens are feeling and growing up means, in many cases, doing it all on your own. Parents have disconnected from their kids and schools are warehouses more than learning centres. Depressing? Yes, but, as always, there are exceptions.

Diane Keaton must have been empassioned enough to Executive Produce this film. It doesn't feed my hunger necessarily, but paints an accurate canvas and landscape.

Steve Landry

{25 votes}

October 8, 2005

Horrible but essential viewing

I have a litmus test for any film that purports to dipict the lives of teenagers. It's in the dialog. I find that in Elephant the assorted voices are authentic. Van Sant's use of presumably untrained kids is highly effective. The mundane, inarticulate conversations of the students - including the killers - seems unnervingly familiar.

I'm literally decades away from highschool, but I haven't grown deaf. The film's characters sound much like the homeward-bound teens whom I find crammed into my bus during the evening rush hour. It completely sucks me into the story.

-Spoiler alert, maybe-

I went into the screening under the impression that the film was a recreation of the events leading up to, but not including, the shootings at Columbine. I can't even remember where I got that idea and maybe I was the only one who ever had it. At any rate, I wasn't even expecting the depiction of the gunfire. And then it began.

For me the tension up to that point was high and if the movie ended without showing any of the violence it would have been just as good. So was it gratuitous? Did I consider this a flaw? Well, no. I suppose I just resent Van Sant for making me a witness.

Frankly, I would put Elephant right up there with Schindler's List in the pantheon of horrible but essential viewing.

Andrew Bouchier

{13 votes}

October 15, 2004

..narrow sights:

....spoon-fed movie that directs a viewer towards how to think erodes at the intelligence that creates a mob hypnosis that every 'problem' arises from some type of phantasia grounded in the obvious cliche of '...why did that happen....' as if to say '...that should never have ever happened...'

prior to columbine there were a long list of school shootings that many would refuse to consider (..such as the youngest school shooting documented in michael moore's bowling for columbine in his home town of flint michigan...) until columbine un-folded only because this shooting happened in such a wealthy school perpetuated by two students whom came from affluent families but behind the scenes were very disgruntled with the status and with the system they felt trapped within:

i saw gus van sant's elephant at cinema du parc and i found the film extraordinary for two reasons: as a viewer i wasn't spoon-fed at all and as an intelligent viewer not part of any mob mentality i realised how un-comfortable this film would make those wanting to be spoon-fed some type of dr. phil hype about how the media has encouraged and therefore created these soul-less killers when elephant indicates the rather indicting thought that perhaps the disconnected parent or parents are to blame for the disconnected soul-less killers that continue to exist post-columbine (...even michael moore has been accused for being exploitative of the columbine situation whereby to blame holly-wood and marilyn manson was considered to be the cure to stop another shoot-up in another affluent school system...) --

...elephant and bowling for columbine are book ends that represent two perspectives through which to look at the continued confusion that spirals within the youth culture indicated by the very disturbing trend of medicating teens with anti-depressants to fix the 'problem' real quick while leaving the source of their wounds and personal hurt to fester and to reach a dangerous level of un-leashed rage.

Gary Womac

{7 votes}

October 13, 2004

Elephant - Bowling for Stupidity.

This is voyeurism at its worst. Why would anyone want to make a movie like this? Why would anyone want to watch a movie like this? Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a copy of "Bowling for Columbine" here in Mexico and after the news last week of the discovery of a plot in the US by two High School students to commit a rampage similar to the Columbine tragedy, I read about "Elephant" on the internet and decided to see it.

Aside from creating tension, this film achieves nothing. We are only left with questions.

Why the title "Elephant" being the most obvious? I haven't the slightest idea.

Various scenes seem either out of place or completely contrived. Early on we sit in on a meeting of the Gay population of the school. Later we see three teenage girls force themselves to vomit in the washroom in a bulemic purge of their cafeteria lunches. Before the killers dress up in military garb for their big moment, they shower and it is implied that they engage in Homosexual sex. Why? Are we to make some conclusions based on these scenes?

The only interesting scene in the film is of one killer playing Beethoven on the piano while the other plays violent video games on a laptop computer. We see the view of the pianist from behind and imagine shooting someone in the back.

This film wants to lay the blame for the Columbine tragedy on the school system, society, other students etc. etc. which couldn't be farther from the truth. The investigation into the Columbine tragedy has determined that the killers wanted to go down in history by killing as many people as possible. They didn't target any particular type of student and they could just have easily have chosen a shopping center for their madness.

Avoid this film. I expect to see some logical, intelligent points raised in "Bowling for Columbine."

David Burke

{4 votes}

October 12, 2004

Great sense of tension through camerawork

Despite the fact that this film portrays a Columbine massacre-esque day at a seemingly quiet high school, the killings themselves are almost dwarfed by the tension shown before we even see the camoflaged gunmen approaching the school. What really struck me as tense was the quiet long takes of the various students carefully and self-conciously walking down the halls. The camerawork is almost voyeuristic in it's pursuit of the characters, and it's as if the non-professional actors sense the camera's eyes on them as they briskly walk the halls. This is the perfect analogy for what it's like to walk down a modern high school's halls alone. One can feel that all eyes are upon him or her, quietly and unflinchingly judging and looking for anything to attack. Of course these eyes may or may not be present, but that's not the point. It's almost like Big Brother in 1984; The government COULD be watching, and that's enough to nervously keep you on your toes. The real elephant in the room is the unspoken understanding that any weakness you show in front of your peers in a high school could and will systematically be found and attacked. Confronting that kind of tension every day can and does make many snap. Van Sant allows his simple, oddly voyeuristic long takes to portray such tension.

Tea Lipton

{15 votes}

July 28, 2004

Poor Depiction of School Shooting Incident

There were long sequences in this film with students slowly walking the corridors of the high school that got to be boring very quickly. Not much seemed to be going on at this institution which was mostly deserted. There seemed to be only one class being conducted which happened to be a discussion on the roots of homosexuality. You had a few characters like the photographer, the lifeguard with his girlfriend and the girl who did not want to wear shorts in gym class. I did not really get to know any of these students who were later shot in cold blood. It is shocking that teenagers can order military grade arms without having to show a permit. These weapons in any case were probably illegal. The biggest problem with the film was that unbelievably no alarms were sounded and the police were not called to the scene of the carnage. One black student walked nonchalantly down the hall without a worry in the world before he himself was gunned down. The students put up absolutely no resistance. If I were a student in a similar situation I would have thrown books or other projectiles or used the fire hose, axe or extinguisher on these student Rambo types. The film ended with one student soldier killing his partner in arms and hunting for more prey in the freezer room. I found myself across the street moments after the Dawson College carnage in Montreal last September which through quick action resulted in only one innocent death. The Montreal killer may have gotten some of his ideas from this film and was therefore surprised at the resistance he got. As always the parents, teachers and other students are clueless.

Stephen Talko

January 6, 2007

Senselessness of Gun Violence captured better in the Original Version

Van Sant remade Clarke's film "Elephant" which commented on the senseless nature of gun killings in Northern Ireland, but adapted it to the American experience with gun violence.

The new version, however, which plays way to long for its own good, attempts to understand the motives behind killing and thereby loses the starkness of the message of gun violence.

Van Sant seems to be idiosyncratic in his intentions with this film that falls flat on many levels.

Giovanni Paquin

August 22, 2005

Blind man in a room full of deaf people

As a school project my class was given the assingment of comparing Bowling for Columbine to Elephant by means of an essay. While researching Elephant I eagerly read the reviews written by acclaimed critics and those of less stature. Unfortunately when I came across some reviews that blatantly trashed Van Sant's film I was disappointed. Obviously Elephant does not strike the same sort of pop culture chords as Moore's Bowling, which is why there are those who quickly go to slander the film. Elephant isn't for everyone, it's odd silence and use of pacing are quite out of the norm and allow for the viewers to draw their own conclusions. I feel that the film was thought out amazingly well, almost to the point where not everyone might grasp what it was making reference to. For example, the title: Elephant. My class discussed this and we figured out that it was given that title because it is a reference to the expression, there's a big elephant in the room but no one talks about it. This relates to many of the issues adressed in Elephant. Also, Van Sant himself says the "shower scene" was not homosexual by intention, although he himself is openly homosexual. It was simply what two boys their age might do because they have never had never experienced a sensual moment like that of romance. They knew they were going to die never having been kissed. The suggested reasons why the two boys shot the people in their school are just suggested reasons. No one will ever know for 100% sure why they did it, because they are no longer alive to explain or to even look inside themselves for a purpose. Because of its lack of pop culture mannerisms, Elephant is not a film for everyone. So if you didn't like Elephant, don't blame the writer, blame the fact you can't open yourself enough to accept someone else's opinion or understand what they are trying to convey to you.

Chelsea Cromwell

October 17, 2004

Help!

Half way through this abomination of a movie, I was so tempted to tap the guy beside me

and ask him if it was just me, or was this movie as dreary, bleak, and badly acted as I

thought? I'm hoping he'd agree, because I can't understand any other opinion but mine.

The idea is completely stolen from the Columbine shooting, yet not credited as such,

with high school actors playing themselves in a hugely stereotypical script. There

is nothing original about this movie apart from the unbelievably boring drawn out

scenes where a character will walk across a field or a park, and we are stuck having

to watch their back and slowly die of unactivity of the brain!

I am praying to GOD that there will not be a sequel!

Emily Cooper

{3 votes}

September 29, 2004

I still don't know what to make of this movie...

I have seen this movie over the week-end, supposedly a "Palme d'or movie", and I still don't quite know what to make of it, the movie is called "Elephant".

It is the story of an average school day that ends in extremely tragic violence. I am not quite sure what exactly should I take away from this kind of story. I actually feel quite distant to this movie.

This movie seems to be badly based on different rampages events (i.e.Columbine) that literally follows several students around the halls of an unnamed high school during an average morning.

To tell you the truth, little is done in explaining how a young man reaches this point of cold-blooded violence toward his schoolmate.

One more violent American movie, with an extremely shocking end!

Valerie Augier

{1 vote}

September 27, 2004

Huge...

Near the end of the credits, a familiar line travels upwards into the nether region of the silver screen. It's a disclaimer that must be very handy for avoiding lawsuits. It reads as follows: "The characters and events depicted in this motion picture are fictional and any similarity to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental." I beg to differ.

Elephant is a spellbinding film. Though we know what will happen at the end, this doesn't harm the movie. In fact, it helps it. What we get is a natural suspense. It's one created as we follow about a dozen students in their daily school routine. Slowly, we discover their world and are brought back to our own high school days. If you wonder why high school memories don't seem to have any precise points but just one vague flow, you can see your question answered by watching a somewhat monotonous day in the life of these kids, yet filled with important details. that is until the worst happens.

The majority of the film is a hypnotizing portrait of high school students. This presentation extends to far more than anything we've seen in all movies featuring teens. Yeah, Ferris Bueller is a fun guy but he exists in someone's imagination. Elephant has an authentic feel to it.

One can't help but to think of Jean-Luc "cinema is truth at 24 frames per second. Every cut is lie" Godard after watching this movie. Here we mostly have long hypnotizing shots that follow the students in their daily routines; from the alcoholic dad who makes you late for school, to the future photographer, the lovers, the anorexic trio and the homosexual couple. In witnessing their lives, one becomes touched, moved not only by the individual characters but by the ensemble. Many of its parts seem unnatural while others are perfectly normal. But in the end, the whole makes perfect sense, though it isn't without a shatter in our heads that we discover this.

Michael Lasry

September 16, 2004

There's an Elephant in the room...

I saw this film last night and it was all that I expected it to be. It was fairly slow paced and so the movie feels longer than its 81 minute length especially when we are made to follow behind the characters as they wade down the hall of their large school.

To keep us on our toes, the scenes were not always presented in chronological order and we had to piece bits and pieces together as we were presented with scenes from different characters' viewpoints.

Non-professional actors were used in order to make the film seem more raw. There was just enough character developement so that you could get a feel for the mind frame of all the characters who were presented to us.

This film provided maybe good discussion topics throughout: ease at which kids can purchase guns in the US, nature vs. nuture, school security, bullying, eating disorders, teen pregnancy etc.

Like films such as Requiem For a dream this is a film that you should see at least once and recommend to your friend even if you hated it.

Antoinette Davis

{3 votes}

May 25, 2004

A Great Film

This is a great film by director Gus Van Sant. This film is based on the events that occurred on April 20,1999 when two teenagers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on a school shooting rampage that left 13 dead. This film kind of shows you of what happened on that faithful day. The only problem this film had was it had too much drama. I recommend you to go see this film.

Pete Amaro

{1 vote}

May 7, 2004

A trunk load of emotion

Elephant is another experiment if you will be by special director Gus Van Sant. Van Sant is known for his weird movies like Gerry (starring Matt Damon). I read a few reviews saying that the violence almost felt normal after viewing this movie and I cannot disagree more. Elephant is another slow-paced movie like much of Van Sant's collection. He took out a school and wannabe actors and decided to make a movie that resembled a bit the shooting at Columbine in Colorado. The violence in the movie affected me way more than let's say Kill Bill. We are seeing kids shooting other students just for the fun of it. The problem with Elephant is that it develops a kind of story just not nearly as profound the average viewer would like. I can't spoil the movies for others but you can easily see what I mean after the first viewing. Elephant can also be a social criticism and like Bowling for Columbine questions the laws on gun control. Elephant is a decent movie that is worth a watch if you don't mind the slow pace genre.

Anthony Narciso

{3 votes}

May 3, 2004

Pervert movie

This movie is quite violent. And some perversion in it. I don't like the way the author introduce and send the message by his movie. It is like he promote the agressive and violent way of doing things, he wants to provoque us, to make us talk. He wants us to say that , if it is pervert and original it is good. That theory is false but it makes a good drama movie with action and sells good.

Andre Charbonneau

February 26, 2004

Marilyn Manson

i've heard and read that people are blaming marilyn manson for the movie "elephant" and i think thats totally stupid and got no point. marilyn manson isnt inspiring people to do anything.. its the people's own point of view and manson got nothing to do with it, neither their behavior nor their thinking. think about it again and recorrect your mistakes. thank you

Hana Ayish

December 1, 2006

What where they thinking

After i saw this i actually was thinking if this was actually a good thing to do. To actually make a movie that looks so much like the Columbine shooting. There is to way to look at it, the way a critic would look at it and the way the common people would look at it. The critic would mostly look past all the violence in this movie and the fact that it looks almost exactly like the Columbine shooting and say this is a great artistic film. But a guy like me, am thinking that it's maybe a great artistic movie but at the same time, it wasn't that long ago that the Columbine shooting happen and that this could happen again because of this movie. So in conclusion, this movie shouldn't have been made at all but if you like those types of movies it's still a really good movie.

Martin Rioux

{2 votes}

April 12, 2004

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