Last night, in the wee hours of the morning, I watched Gus Van Sant’s Elephant. The story focuses around two disturbed-but-seemingly-normal high school students from a suburb of Portland, Oregon. The film shows various high school students going about their day-to-day activities, leading up to the the final scene, in which the two students, Eric and Alex, go on a mass murdering spree a la Columbine. Often the same scene is repeated, but through the eyes of a different student, causing the viewer to develop a stronger emotional attachment to the victims. The cinematography was very interesting. There was extensive use of out-of-focus cameras and color filters, as well as several angles that aren’t typically used. And the soundtrack. The soundtrack shifted from loud background noise (think locker doors, high school girls chatting) to Beethoven almost effortlessly. The effect was astounding.
Basically, Elephant is definitely worth watching at least once, if not multiple times. If you’re not a fan of emotional/social commentary, at least watch it for the superb cinematography. If any further persuasion is needed, it won multiple awards, including a 2003 Cannes Palme d’Or.
For more info, check out http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363589/.
p.s. Try to pick up on the references to A Clockwork Orange.
