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Elephant (2003)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Gus Van Sant (written by)
Release Date:
3 October 2003 (Italy)
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Tagline:
An ordinary high school day. Except that it's not.
Plot:
Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
5 wins
&
6 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(38 articles)
Trailer For ‘The Final’: Can Hollywood Go Too Far?
(From Screen Rant. 16 November 2009, 5:31 PM, PST)
Bret Easton Ellis and Gus Van Sant to Film The Golden Suicides
(From Atomic Popcorn. 14 October 2009, 6:29 AM, PDT)
(From Screen Rant. 16 November 2009, 5:31 PM, PST)
Bret Easton Ellis and Gus Van Sant to Film The Golden Suicides
(From Atomic Popcorn. 14 October 2009, 6:29 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
8/10 good dialogue, unique storytelling
more (637 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Alex Frost | ... | Alex |
 | Eric Deulen | ... | Eric |
 | John Robinson | ... | John McFarland |
| Elias McConnell | ... | Elias |
| Jordan Taylor | ... | Jordan |
| Carrie Finklea | ... | Carrie |
| Nicole George | ... | Nicole |
| Brittany Mountain | ... | Brittany |
| Alicia Miles | ... | Acadia |
| Kristen Hicks | ... | Michelle |
| Bennie Dixon | ... | Benny |
 | Nathan Tyson | ... | Nathan |
 | Timothy Bottoms | ... | Mr. McFarland |
| Matt Malloy | ... | Mr. Luce |
 | Ellis Williams | ... | GSA Teacher (as Ellis E. Williams) |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for disturbing violent content, language, brief sexuality and drug use - all involving teens.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
81 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) |
Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) |
Iceland:16 |
Netherlands:12 |
Hungary:16 |
France:-12 |
Japan:R-15 |
Brazil:16 |
Netherlands:16 |
South Africa:16LV |
Canada:13+ (Québec) |
Norway:15 |
Sweden:15 |
Argentina:16 |
Australia:MA |
Chile:14 |
Finland:K-15 |
Germany:12 |
New Zealand:R16 |
Portugal:M/16 |
Singapore:NC-16 |
South Korea:18 |
UK:15 |
USA:R (certificate #40167)
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
This film is heavily influenced by the Alan Clarke TV drama from 1989 of the same name (_Elephant (1989)_). Both films chronicle senseless killings and contain many long an wandering takes of its main characters.
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Goofs:
Boom mic visible: When the three girls are getting their trays in the cafeteria, there is a male student standing to the left. The microphone pole casts a shadow on the back of his neck.
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Quotes:
[first lines]
Mr. McFarland: What? Hey! Where are you going? Come here.
John McFarland: Oh, my God, Dad.
Mr. McFarland: Get in the car. You're gonna be late for school. Come on.
John McFarland: Mom's gonna kill you.
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Mr. McFarland: What? Hey! Where are you going? Come here.
John McFarland: Oh, my God, Dad.
Mr. McFarland: Get in the car. You're gonna be late for school. Come on.
John McFarland: Mom's gonna kill you.
more
Soundtrack:
Für Elise
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FAQ
Why did Alex and Eric kiss in the shower?What happened at the end of the movie?
Who gets shot in the freezer at the end of the film?
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more (637 total)
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This movie is a fictional story, but it is essentially a retelling of the Columbine High massacre. It only spans maybe an hour in time, but it coves the points of view of a lot of people, from victims to bystanders to the murderers themselves.
It's a particularly important piece because of its storytelling style. Van Sant has the camera follow one character at a time, on the day of the murders, and lets the story tell itself. It is about as neutral as one can get, really. Van Sant doesn't use foreshadowing, he doesn't frame any character up as a particular archetype, he doesn't play ominous music, and the dialogue is about as inane and high school-ish as you can get, very realistic actually. There are no jokes, and relatively few scenes designed for maximum shock effect. That's the whole point: the situation was a normal high school day, and the very events, regardless of how you paint them, should be as shocking as anything. All the while you're asking yourself, "How can this possibly lead to a massacre? These are all normal kids," which faithfully recreates the tone of morning leading up the unexpected real life events.
If you're looking for a conventional movie with a clear beginning, middle, end, good and bad guys, glorified heroism and demonized violence, you won't like this movie, it's not a made for TV special, it's closer to an art film.
Some people have expressed anger at the movie, accusing it of some sort of liberal Michael Moore anti-2nd amendment sympathies or heavy handed preaching. Having seen it I can't possibly understand what they're talking about. My suspicion is that they're seeing what they want to see. And that leads me to wonder just what a good movie about Columbine would look like, in their opinions. To me, this is it.