YAMT: Has anyone seen the movie Elephant (2003)?

[Ranger X]

Why does Alex kill Eric in the end?
What is the point of that character Benny? All he did was walk around and got shot later without even saying a word in the movie.

I have my own interpretation of the movie but everything that happens in this movie is left open-ended.

 

[Crusty]

wtf is up with the movie...

I actually enjoyed the camera work and way the story was told..at first it didn't make sense..but it slowly started to come together..and then I was like wtf?

 

[Ranger X]

And does anyone know why it was called "Elephant"?

 

[Murpheeee]

I rented it last night and thought it was very good

The film is deliberately vague and open to your own interpretation

I think he killed his buddy because he had a murder/suicide plan and teh murdering part was coming to an end because all the kids were out of the place by then......

I think the point of Benny was just to show that he had a chance to get out....but didn't

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: Ranger X
Why does Alex kill Eric in the end?
What is the point of that character Benny? All he did was walk around and got shot later without even saying a word in the movie.

I have my own interpretation of the movie but everything that happens in this movie is left open-ended.

I agree.. all those indy films are vague, artistic, and left up to the viewers interpretation. That just means critics will eat it up because they think they're smarter than everybody else.

 

[purbeast0]

hmm thanks for the spoiler warning

I was gonna watch it, but guess I won't even bother now ...

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
hmm thanks for the spoiler warning

I was gonna watch it, but guess I won't even bother now ...

I wish someone had spoiled it for me so I didn't have to watch it.

 

[Sepen]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
hmm thanks for the spoiler warning

I was gonna watch it, but guess I won't even bother now ...

Umm, it is based on Columbine, everyone knows what happened there.

 

[pulse8]

I watched it last night.

Didn't really like it. It had no real story, the characters were uninteresting and a good deal of the shots were way too drawn out and long.

***SPOILER****






And what was with the sudden gay stuff? It was completely unmotivated and had nothing to do with anything.

 

[GrouchyLadybug]

Originally posted by: pulse8
I watched it last night.

Didn't really like it. It had no real story, the characters were uninteresting and a good deal of the shots were way too drawn out and long.

***SPOILER****






And what was with the sudden gay stuff? It was completely unmotivated and had nothing to do with anything.

The gay stuff wasn't sudden, I didn't think. Near the beginning of the movie, there was a small group in a classroom having a rather unintelligent discussion about gay people. Just another reason for the two boys to be mad at the world, I suppose. I thought it was a great movie in general. I love films that make you think.

 

[PMChris]

He shot his friend because his friend was a part of the school, IMO. He knew him through school, and since he went to the school that made him the enemy as much as anyone else who was at the school was.

I thought this was the best movie of 2003. Period. No other film put me into that off-putting a mental and emotional state that year. Visually stunning, and pleasantly different from the average multi-plex offering that the movie industry pumps out every 2 days.

 

[DanJ]

The film was obviously called Elephent due to the idea of the "Elephent in the corner"; something that's their and people can obviously see but something no one talks about and tries to ignore.

Saw it this weekend and its an alright film. The buildup through the parallel storytelling was somewhat tense near the ending but overall I didn't feel the film had correct closure. No real commentary on the subject and not enough character builup on Alex or Erik.