Inspired by a bloody 1999 news story, the massacre at Columbine High School carried out by two students.
Synopsis: In an Oregon high school, it's a day like any other, at least until the sudden intrusion of two armed students, determined to commit a massacre...
I approached "Elephant" without expectations, burned by past disappointments inflicted by old Gus. Yet, after the movie ended, I noticed the sensation it had left on me, which took a few hours to fade away. Annoyance, discomfort. An itchy film.
Let's start from the beginning, from the typical day in an ordinary American high school: football practice, cheerleaders, long walks through the hallways. A normal day, just like many others.
One like many others, before the moment when this normality is mercilessly torn apart, without hesitation, without reason.
The first hour of the film is functional: the characters are introduced, and through long sequence shots, we follow them, keeping a step behind, escorting them toward their destiny, toward what is about to happen. Because it's in the air, something bad is about to happen. We know it.
Essentially, this is the layout (at least up to the main event): the intertwined perspectives of various characters converging towards the climax, the event. Now we know the characters, yet we can't empathize with any of them, aided by a detached, cold narration. Aseptic. We also meet those who we will discover to be the perpetrators of the massacre.
And now we come to the last 30 minutes, the ones where everything falls apart. We closely observe the two executioners (a weak version of Paul and Peter from "Funny Games", angry youngsters, bored for sure), we enter their lives seeking a motive for what -we know- they will soon do. But can documentaries on Hitler, violent video games, and the excessive ease of obtaining weapons be considered motives?
We witness the massacre preparations in minute detail. We perceive alienation ("So here we are, dying today," one of them says) but also euphoria ("Because this must be a fun day, we have to enjoy ourselves"). We follow the two terrorists in camouflage suits inside the school. And the massacre begins.
Meanwhile, outside, safe, the boy who had crossed paths with the killers watches the school in flames, commenting (almost indifferently) on what is happening inside. Cut, Beethoven's "Für Elise" plays as the credits roll.
In conclusion, "Elephant" is indeed a valid film, capable of narrating the events impartially: there is no moralism from Gus Van Sant, not even an attempt. The ease with which one can procure a weapon is plain to see, yet so easy to pretend not to see [just as it is easy to ignore an elephant in a room, the same "Elephant" that gives the film its name].
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Other reviews
By paloz
"Elephant means a huge problem that no one seems to notice, that of an America slowly going to ruin."
"This film (and therefore Van Sant himself) WANTS to make us feel bad, wants us to reach the extremes of our visual and psychological endurance."
By VinnySparrow
"Anyone can be a killer. Rifles and guns are just a few 'clicks' away."
"School massacres are the consequence of all the rot behind a sick and ruthless system."