Elephant

Movie Name: Elephant
Year of Release: 2003
Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson, Elias McConnell
Genre: Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 9
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Synopsis and Review:

Gus Van Sant continued his idiosyncratic career with one of his most celebrated films, the Palm D’Or Winner “Elephant”, which was preceded by the more commercial feature “Finding Forrester” (2000) and the more experimental “Gerry” (2002). “Elephant” is inspired by the events and occurrences that took place in Columbine, CO, where two teenage students went on a murdering spree, and killed 12 students and one teacher, before ultimately committing suicide. The film follows the events taking place in a high school, focusing on different students, some of whom are suddenly thrust into this dramatic occurrence, where two students come to school with guns, chains and explosives, and start killing people arbitrarily. 

“Elephant” is a film that successfully  marries Gus Van Sant’s aesthetic and point of view, mostly by observing events unfold from multiple perspectives and simultaneously using the camera to capture a poetic tone to the existence of suburbia in America. As usual, he focuses his attention on younger subjects, with the film trailing different students, in order to provide some insight into who they are and what emotional and psychological baggage they are bringing into that school. The film doesn’t try to explain the events, but focuses more on documenting the events, and how a random explosion of violence can appear out of nowhere, when no one is expecting. It’s a film that culminates the perspective and point of view that Van Sant had already tackled in “My Own Private Idaho” and “To Die For”, and to some extent and in a parallel career, the same going for Larry Clark and his films “Kids”, “Bully” and “Ken Park”. These are all views into the lives of young people, how they deal with family lives, friendships and how alienated some of these universes produce disaffected people and interminable problems. It’s an interesting perspective, essentially because Gus Van Sant marries an observational style (almost documentary style), with a poetic tone that is perfectly captured by the late and celebrated cinematographer Harris Savides (with whom Van Sant had worked on “Finding Forrester”, “Gerry” and whom he would work with in the following “Last Days” and a few others until his sad passing in 2012). A fantastic film from a very unique director, always worth watching.