It's official. Existential has hit the zeitgeist. From 'lost in translation' to "raising victor vargas" and now Elephant.
The art of detached filmmaking is the new cool.
If you want a movie experience like none before, wath this flick.
It's based on the Columbine shootings of some years back.
It's deadly man. I warn you it's not your average action flick. It's very stylised and artsy and some might call it boring coz it's just there. It doesn't attempt to explain anything and when you watch it you feel like..what's the point of this? where is this going.
Pure art. For indie lovers this is a must see. A MUST SEE.
is elephant the movie by gus van sant or something like that? I read some good reviews on it but doubt it would hold my interest until the end which i hear is a stunner...
Yeah it's a Van Sant movie..he of "The talented Mr Ripley" fame.
The guy can craft some serioulsy good movies there.
Yeah it's not exactly a 'riveting' kind of movie for the average movie goer but if you're a maniacal cinephile like me who looks for every metaphor and sign and stylistic device used by filmmakers then you will have a blast ...especially coz i went in with syke to watch the movie with "cinematic eye"(much like a literature professor reading a book with a literary critical eye as opposed to just reading it) eyes and you're like ..what is this moffo trying to say? Then it dawns on you that that is the whole point of the movie. It's not offering any explanations.
It's like an obituary. They are often very neutral as in so and so died and he was a good family member who will be missed by many.
That is not really who he was. But the work of the obituary is to just proclaim that he is dead and not go into details.
like your pitch thierry.
i am trying to think of a film i've watched that falls into that genre - the ones i'm coming up with (American Beauty, Lost in Translation) are only partly existential as they all seem to have a message - any other examples?
i'm going off topic here, but have you watched "the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind"? if yes, comments please.
i heard charlie kaufmann has something to do with it (directed/wrote it?) and i've loved everything he's done before (being john malkovich, adaptation) - think he is very funny/genius so would like to know if this continues that trend...
No i haven't yet. I am shocked at this coz it's right up my alley.
People have said it's a very strange movie which makes me wonder coz come on, it's a charlie kauffman movie what did you expect...
I loved Adaptation. I was touched by it so much. It's nice to see a movie about love and selflessness and death and the cruel nature of life(it is the kind and sweet twin who dies)without it being moralistic and sappy. I especially liked Chris Coopers performance man that was one of the best i've seen in ages..and i'm hard to impress. He outshone Meryl Streep i think which is hard to do coz she's so effortless as per kawa.I was surprised by the tragi-comedic nature of it especially when Nicolas Cages twin brother dies in that swamp.
Anyway that was a good one.
I'm sure 'spotless' won't disappoint also when i get around to watch it sometime. Being John Malkovich i thought was kind of inaccessible. Like a Soyinka novel...he who is accused of writing for his college buddies and literature professors as opposed to say..Achebe who writes for the common man.
Malkovich was that way for me. I just didn't gitch it.
i know!
chris cooper was brill - and he won an oscar for it, didnt he?
i loved "being john malkovich" - it was the first movie i watched without really gitching but enjoying myself either way - the strangeness of it, i thought was very cool and funny.
am not sure when "eternal sunshine.." opens here but i hope it wont disappoint.
Elephant -
03-13-2004, 12:17 PM
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