Elephant

2003 ***** 80 mins.

Most of the time while I was watching this, I thought, "Is this a work of fiction or a highly stylized documentary?" This film is so believable, and the performances are so realistic, that it's almost hard to believe that Gus Van Sant didn't just take the camera inside of a high school and film what was naturally happening. While we only see each character in this film a limited amount of time, we connect with each character and learn so much about each character that we grow to care about each characer. How this is done is through slow tracking shots through hallways, panning around a discussion circle, and other things of the like. This is a film that truly shows that we can learn so much about a person and a situation simply through what we see. Thank you, Gus Van Sant, for giving the world a film that is so different, so touching, so remarkable, that it should never disappear from the world's sight. Thank you, also, for showing an aspiring filmmaker like me that films like this can still be made and appreciated.
Rated R for violence, language, and brief sexual content.