Elephant

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Elephant

    I saw Elephant. I'll never forget, unfortunately. What a crapfest. They should have called it watching people walk, because that is 60% of the movie. I don't mean walk and talk. No, no, no, just walking from one part of the school to another. I'm not exaggerating 60% of the movie.
    I know it is from a writer/director, low budget dv but don't any of the rules of story apply i.e doesn't there have to be one. YMMV

    Last night in San Pedro

  • #2
    Re: Elephant

    Although perhaps at times it may come off as a little too "artsy", I overall think "Elephant" is a very decent film with its climax being its very strong point.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Elephant

      Actually, it was shot on 35mm. VanSant, for some reason, has been tagged as a 1st rate auteur by the powers that be. I don't know if he has a great publicist or if there's something that the cineastes see that I don't. Which I kind of doubt since I'm one of the biggest artf ags on DD.

      I didn't mind Elephant as much as Gerry, another walking without talking movie. I definitely don't need to see either of them again. His current Last Days is in theaters and while I haven't seen it, I read that he uses the same lingering shots and dialogueless scenes, capping his slow period trilogy. However, given that it's a fictional riff on the end of Kurt Cobain's life, I'm sure I'll see it.

      To think this is the same director who brought us To Die For, Good Will Hunting, and Finding Forester. Of course, he didn't write any of those.
      http://confoundedfilms.com

      http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Elephant

        hairy i'm shocked you're not a fan. if you don't care for the first two you probably won't enjoy Last Days (kobain allusions notwithstanding). the shots go on for days. and on and on. cameos by harmony korine and kim gordon. personally i find all 3 pretty amazing.
        If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed. -- Stanley Kubrick

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Elephant

          As I said, I didn't mind Elephant. I just wouldn't watch it again due to the violent subject matter. Gerry bored me so much I could only watch about 20 minutes at a time before doing something more interesting like laundry, dishes, watering plants, etc. I did like the landscapes and there were several interesting shots. I particularly liked the close-up of the two of them walking in unison with the gravel/sand crunching under foot. But it was just a cool shot, not something that needed to go on for minutes at a time. I don't think VanSant is everything people seem to think he is, but he's had some break out indie hits, so I guess he gets a pass when he makes these very low budget art projects.
          http://confoundedfilms.com

          http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Elephant

            Originally posted by Hairy Lime
            To think this is the same director who brought us To Die For, Good Will Hunting, and Finding Forester. Of course, he didn't write any of those.
            And the 1998 remake of "Psycho".

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Elephant

              Originally posted by j over
              And the 1998 remake of "Psycho".
              And "Drugstore Cowboy" and "My Own Private Idaho."

              He wrote the scripts for both of those.

              He's hit-or-miss, but he's certainly earned some leeway, in my book at least.
              They cursed us forever, making us prefer dreams to lives.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Elephant

                I loved Elephant. I thought the long "walking without talking" shots did a great job of portraying the loneliness and isolation many of us felt in high school (even if we weren't social outcasts). To me, this is one of the most chilling and disturbing films made in the last few years.

                And probably the best horror movie I've seen in ages (if we don't use "must contain supernatural/out-of-this-world elements" as part of the definition of horror).

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Elephant

                  Insanity In A Jar: To me, this is one of the most chilling and disturbing films made in the last few years.

                  Couldn't agree more. Although a slow film, the final scene is most compelling.

                  EJ

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Elephant

                    an amazing movie. i saw this last month, and its still stuck in my head.

                    just one of the scariest movies ive seen in a loong time.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Elephant

                      There may have been a lot of nothing much going on, but that was exactly what schhol was for me. Killing time, running into people i liked, people i didn't like. Wandering around, bored, lonely, frustrated. Pretty realistic imo.
                      Frosties are just Cornflakes for people who can't face reality.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Elephant

                        Elephant is the cinematic equivalent of watching paint dry.

                        It's not too artsy, it just plain boring. If I wanted to see people walk around school, then I would go back to school and watch people walk around. But I didn't do that when I was there, so why on Earth would anybody want to see it take up 75% of a movie? No conflict. It was boring. Worse than boring. It was like torture. I felt like I deserved a medal for bravery when it was finally over. What was the running time again...203 minutes or something? Felt like it.

                        Gus Van Sant directed one of my favorite movies (Good Will Hunting) and he also made one of the worst movies I've ever seen. That'll keep me up for the next few nights.

                        Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to watch a movie that doesn't have a 12 minute shot of clouds rolling by.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Elephant

                          Well i found it a lot more realistic than the "antics" everyone seems to get up to in almost all high school movies.
                          Frosties are just Cornflakes for people who can't face reality.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Elephant

                            Originally posted by Biohazard
                            Elephant is the cinematic equivalent of watching paint dry.

                            It's not too artsy, it just plain boring. If I wanted to see people walk around school, then I would go back to school and watch people walk around. But I didn't do that when I was there, so why on Earth would anybody want to see it take up 75% of a movie? No conflict. It was boring. Worse than boring. It was like torture. I felt like I deserved a medal for bravery when it was finally over. What was the running time again...203 minutes or something? Felt like it.

                            Gus Van Sant directed one of my favorite movies (Good Will Hunting) and he also made one of the worst movies I've ever seen. That'll keep me up for the next few nights.

                            Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to watch a movie that doesn't have a 12 minute shot of clouds rolling by.
                            You don't get a medal until you can sit through Gerry too. Slightly more entertaining save for the 5 minute tracking shot of two guys walking through a desert without a word of dialogue.

                            The ultimate test to see how much patience you really have.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Elephant

                              I actually loved the 5 minute tracking shot in Gerry. The only part of that movie worth watching. The cadence of their steps and the crunch of the sand under their feet was mesmerizing. The skill and patience required to execute that shot is remarkable. Most filmmakers can't execute a static 20 second shot worth watching.

                              Elephant was a big step up from Gerry. Much more interesting visually. A better story. Much more disturbing. Van Sant was starting to channel Béla Tarr with some elegance.

                              But not until Last Days did he truly get it right. And that movie's a haunting delight as a result.

                              This trilogy is probably the closest we've come to "film as art" by a successful American filmmaker in quite some time. These kinds of pieces are usually the work of rank amateurs or art installations in museums, not theatrical releases.
                              http://confoundedfilms.com

                              http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X