Elephant (2003)

Calificación de los usuarios:

7.3/10   

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Guionista (WGA):

Gus Van Sant (written by)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

3 octubre 2003 (Italy)

Género:

Crimen | Drama

Frase comercial:

An ordinary high school day. Except that it's not.

Plot:

Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.

Plot Keywords:

Student | High School | Cafeteria | Video Game | Columbine

Premios:

5 wins & 6 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Elegantly Disturbing and Shallow

Reparto

Alex Frost	...	Alex
Eric Deulen	...	Eric
John Robinson	...	John McFarland
Elias McConnell	...	Elias
Jordan Taylor	...	Jordan
Carrie Finklea	...	Carrie
Nicole George	...	Nicole
Brittany Mountain	...	Brittany
Alicia Miles	...	Acadia
Kristen Hicks	...	Michelle
Bennie Dixon	...	Benny
Nathan Tyson	...	Nathan
Timothy Bottoms	...	Mr. McFarland
Matt Malloy	...	Mr. Luce
Ellis Williams	...	GSA Teacher (as Ellis E. Williams)

También conocida como:

Elefante (Argentina) [es]
Elephant (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for disturbing violent content, language, brief sexuality and drug use - all involving teens.

Duración:

81 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

Inglés | Alemán

Color:

Color

Relación de Aspecto:

1.37 : 1

Sonido:

Dolby Digital

Clasificación:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | Hungary:16 | France:-12 | Japan:R-15 | Brazil:16 | Netherlands:16 | South Africa:16LV | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #40167)

Locaciones de Filmación:

John Adams High School, 5135 NE Columbia Boulevard, Portland, Oregon, USA

Compañía:

HBO Films

Trivialidades:

Gus Van Sant borrowed the title from Alan Clarke's film of the same name, and thought that it referred to the Chinese proverb about five blind men who were each led to a different part of an elephant. Each man thinks that it is a different thing. What Clarke's title actually referred to was the idea of the "elephant in the room." It's an idiom for an obvious truth that gets ignored, like an elephant in a room that no one will acknowledge is there.

Errores:

Personal o Equipo Visible: As Michelle is show pushing a trolley of books in the library over to a shelf just after the photographer walks in, you can see the yellow and white tape markings on the floor that indicate where she is supposed to stop the trolley and were she is to stand to stack the shelf.

Citas:

[first lines]
Mr. McFarland: What? Hey! Where are you going? Come here.
John McFarland: Oh, my God, Dad.
Mr. McFarland: Get in the car. You're gonna be late for school. Come on.
John McFarland: Mom's gonna kill you.

Conexiones de Película:

References Sátántangó (1994)

Banda de Sonido:

Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor, No. 2 Moonlight - Adagio Sostenuto

Elegantly Disturbing and Shallow

I've never been a believer in Gus Van Sant the auteur. "Drugstore Cowboy" was a quasi-entertaining and promising first feature most notable for its pretty North Western scenery and the even prettier Heather Graham in her film debut, but nothing too special ever followed, and the "Pscyho" remake was an abomination on every level. Van Sant's mainstream films were successful for reasons beyond his artistic input. "To Die For" heralded Nicole Kidman's first tour de force, and "Good Will Hunting" launched the careers of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for better and for worse.

Here, with "Elephant" Van Sant returns to the same pretty North Western scenery (just an in "Drugstore Cowboy" the movie was filmed on location in Portland, Oregon) and populates it with even prettier young men and women sleepwalking through an "interpretation" of the events of the Columbine Massacre. There's an elegant listlessness to the camera-work as Van Sant lulls us into a beautifully mundane day in the life of some random high school students. There's a creepy undercurrent, not only in the voyeuristic way in which he films his young charges, but also in the long lingering single shots of students walking through hallways and sidewalks from behind. Suddenly, as the plot of two alienated young men comes to fruition, you realize that the camera-work is meant to copy the "killer's-eye-view" of the violent and sadistic video games the young men play before making it a reality at their school. There's a rising tension that few film-makers have been able to craft, and for that Van Sant deserves accolades.

For all the artificial prettiness, this is without a doubt a highly disturbing viewing experience. In the end, some of it seemed too random (what was the point of the "Benny" character or the kiss in the shower?), and it culminates ambiguously with all the loose ends untethered. A more capable story-teller would have offered a conclusion, but all Van Sant leaves us is with some haunting classical music and beautiful shot of a cloud covered North Western sky.