Elephant
Gus Van Sant / US, 2003 / 81 min.
A compelling film about a seemingly ordinary day at an American high school. The film won the Golden Palm for Best Director. Part of Looking for America: Kids.
Elephant takes a look behind the scenes and shows us what students are really like: Eli, who invites his classmates to pose in front of his camera, Nate, who takes his girlfriend Carrie out for a meal after football training, and John, whose path crosses that of Alex and Eric. At face value just an ordinary school day, but appearances are deceptive. Elephant won the Golden Palm and the Best Director Award at Cannes Film Festival.
Preceded by: Thunder Road (US, 13”) by Jim Cummings. A policeman prepares to present a memorial speech at his mother”s funeral. Overcome by emotions, he ends up performing Bruce Springsteen”s well-known song Thunder Road in tribute to his mother. Shot in a single take. The film won the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
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Details
Director
Gus Van Sant
Production year
2003
Country
US
Original title
Elephant
Length
81 min.
Subtitles
NLD
Format
35mm
Part of
Looking for America
This autumn Eye is taking an inquisitive look at the United States. How does the age-old ideal of a ‘land of the free and home of the brave’ relate to the difficult reality of today?
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