Reply to Topic
People write off these kinds of movies for ignorant reasons. First off, Gus Van Sant's Elephant took home Top Prizes at Cannes, an international snob-fest of a film festival, where everything but the ****ing films themselves are taken into consideration. Others will call this an artsy jerk-off fest: a film for those "intellectuals" you see in coffee shops wearing scarves who hate "corporate Hollywood" and discuss Tortoise albums over 5 dollar lattes.
But write-off Elephant and you'll be sleeping on a film that's 10 times more frightening than any "supernatural" ghost thriller being rehashed at theatres. Part of Elephant's appeal is it's use of real High School students rather than actors (the kids use their real first names). Much of the film is improvised by the kids, offering a very authentic teenage feel: Girls gossiping, stories at lunch time, parties after school, etc.
Some may grow tired waiting for the "action." Van Sant focuses his camera (sometimes for what seems like hours) on lone hallways, bathrooms, and outside areas for long periods of time. Wasted time? Hell no. We catch a glimpse of these students partaking in their day to day routines, exposed, un-filtered. We see three jealous gossipy teenage girls chatting away about football hottie Nathan. We see shy nerdy girl Michelle, afraid to wear shorts for gym class and being rediculed in the locker room. We see bleach-blonde John driving himself to school because his father (That's My Bush's Timothy Bottoms) is to drunk to drive, and then arriving to school late and getting a detention from an unsuspecting bonehead principal. We see real kids in real situations, and what some brush off as teenage stereotypes are all to real.
We also see young Alex, tormented by jocks and bullies. A shut off. The kind of kid who is unnoticed because he's not worth noticing. the kind of kid who would be intersting if you stepped out of your click to talk to him. A girl oversees Alex writing in a notepad. "What are you writing?" She asks. "My plans," he responds. For what? "You'll see."
Elephant isn't a film about what makes kids snap and go crazy. It's about day to day events, small ignorances, and brush-offs by people that can make someone feel un-important. It's about the things in every day life that can take all the feeling out of someone's heart. What starts as a slow-building documentary-like story suddenly turns bone-chillingly heart sinkingly horrifying as Alex and friend Eric approach the school, fully dressed in camo gear, holding duffel bags full of artillery (which they purchase off the internet with no hassle). "What are you guys doing?" asks John. "Get the **** out of here and don't come back," says Alex. "Some serious ****'s about to go down." It's the frightening moment that will have you glued to the screen for what is a shoot-out that almost made me throw up from shock.
Before they go, Alex says to Eric, "Remember to have fun, man." It's a slightly humorous, sick remark remaniscent to the brush-offs they've heard they're whole life. The film's titles refers to a big problem that we choose to ignore. Look closer at these kids, at these characters, and you'll see a story unfold that achieves a different kind of terror. A terror that is all to real.
But write-off Elephant and you'll be sleeping on a film that's 10 times more frightening than any "supernatural" ghost thriller being rehashed at theatres. Part of Elephant's appeal is it's use of real High School students rather than actors (the kids use their real first names). Much of the film is improvised by the kids, offering a very authentic teenage feel: Girls gossiping, stories at lunch time, parties after school, etc.
Some may grow tired waiting for the "action." Van Sant focuses his camera (sometimes for what seems like hours) on lone hallways, bathrooms, and outside areas for long periods of time. Wasted time? Hell no. We catch a glimpse of these students partaking in their day to day routines, exposed, un-filtered. We see three jealous gossipy teenage girls chatting away about football hottie Nathan. We see shy nerdy girl Michelle, afraid to wear shorts for gym class and being rediculed in the locker room. We see bleach-blonde John driving himself to school because his father (That's My Bush's Timothy Bottoms) is to drunk to drive, and then arriving to school late and getting a detention from an unsuspecting bonehead principal. We see real kids in real situations, and what some brush off as teenage stereotypes are all to real.
We also see young Alex, tormented by jocks and bullies. A shut off. The kind of kid who is unnoticed because he's not worth noticing. the kind of kid who would be intersting if you stepped out of your click to talk to him. A girl oversees Alex writing in a notepad. "What are you writing?" She asks. "My plans," he responds. For what? "You'll see."
Elephant isn't a film about what makes kids snap and go crazy. It's about day to day events, small ignorances, and brush-offs by people that can make someone feel un-important. It's about the things in every day life that can take all the feeling out of someone's heart. What starts as a slow-building documentary-like story suddenly turns bone-chillingly heart sinkingly horrifying as Alex and friend Eric approach the school, fully dressed in camo gear, holding duffel bags full of artillery (which they purchase off the internet with no hassle). "What are you guys doing?" asks John. "Get the **** out of here and don't come back," says Alex. "Some serious ****'s about to go down." It's the frightening moment that will have you glued to the screen for what is a shoot-out that almost made me throw up from shock.
Before they go, Alex says to Eric, "Remember to have fun, man." It's a slightly humorous, sick remark remaniscent to the brush-offs they've heard they're whole life. The film's titles refers to a big problem that we choose to ignore. Look closer at these kids, at these characters, and you'll see a story unfold that achieves a different kind of terror. A terror that is all to real.
