[Cathangel]

I'm curious and I'm planning on renting this movie soon. I just want to know what I'm getting into. Did any of you see this movie? If so, how was it?

[mukooh]

'elephant'...by gus van sant...i saw it in an "art house" theater when it was first released....maybe 7 or 8 months ago....this film tells the story of a columbine type shooting at a high school....with very little explantation as to why this event happened.....or as to what the motives were for the shooters.....(sometimes imo people sometimes do things for no apparent reason or the wrong reasons...with no thought of the consequences of their actions).... alot of the story is told through the different perspectives of the victims and the shooters......... it's thought provoking so i'd recommend seeing it.....there's another film out on home video now called 'home room' which deals with the aftermath of a school shooting....it's suppose to be good, although i have yet to watch it....

pink elephant here

[Roswellgirl1001]

I really want to see this, R rating be damned! The lead actor seems like the kind of person I could respect in that role, and usually I find that indie movie/actors are more brilliant than mainstream Hollywood.

[shrrshrr]

The "lead actor" as you say isn't much of a lead actor in that the film focuses on many different teens, not spending too much time on any of them.

I, too, found it to be a thought provoking film and a harsh reality of what a situation like that might have felt like for some of the victims, but I also have to admit that this film dragged a lot in certain places.

Sure, you get the idea that the kids are just going about their business, not thinking about much other than classes, teen hormonal matters, and social issues, but I don't have to follow all the students that many times.

However, despite its few flaws, I think it an important film and well worth watching.

[Timeo]

I actually enjoyed Elephant quite a bit. It's this tale of a Columbine-like event that occurs suddenly and randomly, seen from the different perspectives of the students at the high school. Shot in a deliberately slow pace complete with long takes and everything, it kind of goes from person A to person B, all overlapping each other, but just seen from different eyes. So if person a walks by person b, later on, you'll see person b see person a walking by them. Kind of cool.

But anyways, the film's made I think, in a kind of semi-documentary/real life fashion. It doesn't really sensationalise anything, nor try to make it overly dramatic for the sake of making it a drama. Things are done in such a way that you are detached from what is happening on screen, and as such, there's not too much of an emotional response. You are just a viewer of what is happening, not a participant. For example, the long takes of the students walking down hallways and turning into classes, saying hello to friends or what not, they're all pretty irrelevant, but it adds to that feeling of detachment. So when you follow the killers (who you don't really know they're killers for most of the movie) going around in the high school shooting people, the killings are really much more surprising and shocking than saddening or anything.

The reasons as to why they kill people aren't really explained, but it's hinted at, from what they see on TV, their possible alienation due to their possible different sexuality, playing violent video games, all of these are given as possible reasons, but it's never really explicitly told to your face, saying "This is the be all and end all of why school violence exists." Personally, I thought the film was a really interesting movie and was really successful in what it tried to do. The final image is very memorable, and still floats around in my brain at times. I would highly recommend you seeing the movie.

[Cathangel]

Thanks for all the good posts and good recommendations everyone. I'm curious now more than ever to experience the film for myself. I will also most definitely see "Home Room" too.

[Elizajoey]

I saw this movie about six weeks ago.

It was beautifully shot. The camera would sit there for ages and in any other context, I would have been bored but I was mesmorised.

It's very unobtusive - I felt like I was in the hallways and the cafeteria. I think it's the only time I've ever watched a film and thought to myself - that is what American High School life is like.

SPOILERS
*
*
*
*
*
There were some plot things that seemed out of place - why would the blonde kid not warn everyone to get out when he knew what was coming compared to just telling a few ppl. I also found the kiss between the two boys was really unnecessary - I thought it was just an attempt for Gus to put in a bit of a gay plot considering he is and he does it in all his movies
*
*
*
*
*
END OF SPOILERS


Overall, I thought the acting was perfect and I loved how the actors name was the same as their characters in most cases.

Brillant movie. PLanning to get it on DVD as soon as it comes out here

[RoswellAngel47]

The trailer to this film is haunting. I'm too scared to even see the film now. Haha. Someday...

[groovyk1]

I watched Elephant a few months back and I thought it was ok. There was a lot of time spent roaming the halls, which I found quite annoying. But the way the movie was put together was very clever. The shooting sequences were very shocking, almost unbelievable. The acting was amazing. Overall very well crafted movie.

[Kozey]

yeah I've watched it. But the plot is so slow. I think simplicity is the power of this movie.

[groovyk1]

I agree Kozey

[gotmilk]

Yeah, thats what I liked about it, the simplicity. It was just a normal day and a terrible thing happens. I like how he shot it.

[shrrshrr]

This isn't necessary because it's out on DVD, but as I know people haven't seen it I'm going to be respectful.

s
p
o
i
l
e
r

Elizajoey - I actually didn't see that scene as being "gay."

Just because two people of the same sex kiss, doesn't mean that it's necessarily a homosexual moment. To me it was just a moment of 2 people acknowledging that they'd never experienced something before, that their lives were going to end, and that it was now or never to have that experience. Meaning, it happened between them because there was no one else to kiss - and they'd never get that opportunity.

It seemed rather fatalistic to me.

As for the blond kid (sorry I don't recall his name) - he did warn people, but even if you see kids behaving in this matter, you can't possibly be sure of what they're going to do. As I felt this was a direct reference to Columbine - we'd never seen anything on that scale before, so how would we know what was going to happen? Therefore, how could the blond kid?

He told as many people as he could, but he's young, and I don't see him running into the place to warn people and possibly risk his own life.

After all, the African-American kid, who seemingly was going to disarm the one perpetrator, got shot for his efforts (and saved a couple of lives in the process).

None of us can say what we'd do in that situation, and hopefully we'll never get a chance to experience it.

[JediBlastoise]

i think the reason that the movie doesnt give a clear explanation as to why the kids did the shooting is because people often look for some kind of explanation as to why kids would do such a thing like this, and sometimes there just isnt. sometimes the kids are just messed up like that. people often look too much for an explanation as to why people do these things so they can say like "oh, it's not his fault. it's because blah blah blah." well, sometimes there just isnt a reason for it.

[shrrshrr]

JediBlastoise - I have to agree with that. Sometimes there just isn't a clear reason why.