Elephant

Elephant: A Gus Van Sant movie

1) What struck you most in the film?
What strucked me most in the film is that even if we know since the beggining who are the two shooters, I didn't felt hate or anger towards them. Firstly, I had compassion for Alex who's bullied. Then, when we are in his bedroom, we feel the empty and boring atmospphere that the director wants to recall. Even at the end, I don't dislike these evil characters who just seems bored.

2) What also impressed you?What I've found impressing is that there is no real, deep conversations in the movie. It is a very visual movie because non of the dialectical information that is given is really helpful for the understanding of the movie.3) Did you find anything more particularly upsetting?

At the middle of the movie, there's a scene where we see Alex playing piano and Eric playing a video game on his laptop. We see the shhoting game on full-screen where Eric shoots people from behind. It is a pretty long sequence and it is verry particular to see it on screen. "Für Elise" playing background gives it a tragical aspect and an anticipation to what is, at this moment, just a game.
4) What did you find very disturbing?

As the tension is growing, because we already know what's coming next, the scenario is still very slow. The shooters are calm and relaxed, and we follow them minutes before the tragic events even if there is not many interresting that are said. We want to get seriously into the main issue but the temporality is slow and respected, as Gus Van Sant has chosen to give the same amount of time for all of the characters.

5) What was most shocking?
What was most shocking is the naturalness of the two shooters during all the movie, which is before the tragic attacks. They don't act as if they knew perfectly what was going to happen ad even towards each other, they act like normal boys. Even if the shower scene whows that they want to prepare themselves for death and do one more thing before dying, 

6) What does the film  suggest about the two school shooters?

The two school shooters, Eric and Alex, are presented as loners. We get to know more of Alex since we spend a day of high school with him. Firslty, we see him getting bullied. In the cafeteria scene, we get to understand by the sound in his head that he's not comfortable at all with other people. He's living in an individual fantasy world and doesn't care about anyone. He plays piano very well and in his room are also a lt of drawings, most of them dark ones. He's an artist. Eric is more talkative and funny. He looks more confident and doesn't look to have his set of mind as dark as Alex's one.

7) What's more, what does the film director make clear about the two killers?
Gus Van Sant makes clear that the two killers are keen on violence, but it's ambiguous. We see them watching a documentary about fascism and also playing violent video games. For me, the director wanted to show mostly that there were not more violent than the average. They are mostly filled with boredom.




8) What kind of approach to the school shooting itself did Gus Van Sant opt for?

There is explicitly shown the facility for teenagers to get to buy weapons. We see both boys sitting on the couch and calmly looking into the website "GunsUsa". The logo of the website is very striking, as if it was a toys shopping website. Also, as we see an Hitler scene on TV, we see the delivery of the weapon that they ordered in the background. In America, if you are hypnotized by violence as Eric and Alex are, you have the possibility to buy weapons the easiest way.

9) Moreover, what's the main consequence of the realistic treatment he uses? What about the 'poetic' touches he instills throughout the film?
The realistic treatment he uses is filming the character from behind. That way, we spend an ordinary day at high school, almost in the characters shoes.
The poetic touch with music pushes the slowness of the movie even further. At the beggining, in the soccer field, there is already the mythical song "Für Elise", wich is a pretty sad song. It announces the tragedy that the players are going to live throught. Also, one poetic aspect is the sky that is shown in a long sequence at the beginning, then when the shooters are coming and at the end. It is firstly blueish, as no one is in danger, Then, storm is coming and shooters are on their way. Finally, the storm has already happen and the sky is blue once more.

10) As a conclusion, what must we admit about the way in which the killing and the killers are perceived by the film viewers?In conclusion, I would say that Gus Van Sant choose to represent every character the same way. Any one is shown in the same lapse of time and at the same moment. He gives equal chances to every character, wich means that the viewer does not begin with not only one several point of view of what happened.