In the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world. Manzhouli becomes an obsession for the protagonists of this film, a longed-for escape from the downward spiral in which they find themselves. Among them is schoolboy Bu, on the run after pushing Shuai down the stairs, who was bullying him previously. Bu's classmate Ling has run away from her mother and fallen for the charms of her teacher. Shuai's older brother Cheng feels responsible for the suicide of a friend. And finally there's Mr. Wang, a sprightly pensioner whose son wants to offload him onto a home.
An Elephant Sitting Still is one of the most moving and memorable film experiences I've had in a long time. It manages to say so much about human nature, and accomplishes to flesh out the extremely exposed and vulnerable characters we get to follow through one whole day. There's a big chance the 4-hour running time will scare people away, I know I certainly saw the film way later than I could've, but it's wild how I actually can't think of anything they should have left on the cutting room floor. Every scene builds up towards a goal and every character are a thread which the viewer will follow until their inevitable convergence. Together with the carefully planned, long continuous shots there's a beautiful and melancholic post-rock inspired soundtrack so the themes of guilt, bullying and alienation are in a happy marriage with cold, melodic guitars and atmospheric ambience.
The bleak and oppressive atmosphere hangs over the film like grey, never moving, ever-present rain clouds. The saddest thing though, is the fact that the films director Bo Hu ended his life during the post-production at age 29, making Elephant his first and last feature-length film. The testament to his skill and attention to detail shines in every scene, and how he made all the characters truly come alive is awe-inspiring. A masterpiece from a visual artist who left us all too soon.
Genre: Drama
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