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Elephant
2003 81 min United States of America R 18+
★6.9
Crime, Drama
Director: Gus Van Sant
Trailers
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Description
Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.
Budget:
$3M
US Gross:
$1.27M
Worldwide:
$10M
Starring
Elias McConnell
Actor
Alex Frost
Actor
Eric Deulen
Actor
Awards
Cannes Film Festival 2003
— Palme d'Or
Cannes Film Festival 2003
— Best Director
Cannes Film Festival 2003
— French National Education System Prize
Cannes Film Festival 2003
— French National Education System Prize
Key opinion
Gus Van Sant's Elephant is a highly polarized exploration of a school shooting, praised for its atmospheric technical mastery and condemned for its lack of narrative depth and motive explanation. While some viewers find its dreamlike, detached style a haunting meditation on violence, others criticize it as boring, pretentious, and an empty imitation of reality.
| Cinematography | The film utilizes immersive, masterfully executed long takes and tracking shots that define its distinct aesthetic. | |
| Score | The use of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata provides a powerful, chilling emotional anchor amidst the film's clinical detachment. | |
| Acting | The non-professional cast and minimal dialogue create a realistic, naturalistic tone that some find immersive, while others find amateurish and emotionally cold. | |
| Pacing | The contemplative, slow-paced approach rewards viewers looking for a meditative experience, but is frequently described as tedious or boring by those seeking traditional narrative structure. | |
| Screenplay | The refusal to provide motives or character arcs is seen as a profound exploration of senseless violence by some, and a frustrating, empty lack of substance by others. | |
| Adaptation | The film’s abstract, symbolic depiction of the Columbine massacre is criticized for misrepresenting historical facts and the dynamics of the perpetrators. |