GUS VAN SANT’S "ELEPHANT"
GUS VAN SANT’S ‘ELEPHANT,’ INSPIRED BY THE COLUMBINE MASSACRE,
FOLLOWS A GROUP OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DRIFTING THROUGH THE BANAL ROUTINE OF A SUNNY AFTERNOON. THEY EXIST IN A STATE OF DREAMLIKE DETACHMENT, INTERSECTING LIKE PARTICLES IN A VOID. THIS HYPNOTIC DRIFT IS SHATTERED BY TWO SHOOTERS... BOYS WHO TREAT MURDER WITH THE CASUAL INDIFFERENCE OF A WEATHER EVENT. THE NARRATIVE IS NOT A DISASTER MOVIE... IT IS A CLINICAL OBSERVATION OF THE APOCALYPSE, WHERE THE TERROR LIES NOT IN THE VIOLENCE ITSELF... BUT IN THE TERRIFYING SILENCE THAT PRECEDES IT.
THE ANATOMY:
THE CAMERA DOES NOT DOCUMENT... IT STALKS. VAN SANT USES LONG... UNBROKEN TRACKING SHOTS THAT FOLLOW THE CHARACTERS FROM BEHIND... REDUCING US TO HELPLESS SPECTATORS WATCHING THE BACKS OF HEADS. THE PACING IS GLACIAL... LULLING THE AUDIENCE INTO A TRANCE BEFORE THE VIOLENCE ERUPTS. THE SOUND DESIGN IS A WEAPON... MIXING THE DRONE OF CAFETERIA CHATTER WITH BEETHOVEN’S ‘MOONLIGHT SONATA’. IT STRIPS AWAY HOLLYWOOD DRAMATIZATION TO REVEAL SOMETHING COLDER AND MORE REAL: THE SILENCE BEFORE THE GUNSHOT.
THE ECHO:
WE CRAVE EXPLANATIONS FOR EVIL... WE WANT BULLYING... VIDEO GAMES... OR BAD PARENTING TO BE THE CULPRIT. THE FILM DENIES US THIS COMFORT. IT REFUSES TO PSYCHOANALYZE THE KILLERS. IT PRESENTS THE VIOLENCE AS A WEATHER EVENT... A STORM THAT FORMS WITHOUT MEANING. BY REMOVING THE “WHY”... IT FORCES US TO CONFRONT THE TERRIFYING RANDOMNESS OF THE “HOW”.
THE ILLUSION OF SAFETY:
THE TRUE HORROR IS NOT THE BLOOD... IT IS THE SUNSHINE. THE FILM REMINDS US THAT CATASTROPHE DOES NOT ANNOUNCE ITSELF. IT ARRIVES ON A TUESDAY... IN THE MIDDLE OF A MATH CLASS... WHILE THE SUN IS SHINING. IT SHATTERS THE ILLUSION THAT NORMALCY IS A SHIELD.
THE ABYSS OF THE SKY:
THE FINAL FRAMES OFFER NO CATHARSIS. NO LESSONS LEARNED. ONLY A CLOUD DRIFTING ACROSS A BLUE SKY. IT IS A RADICAL ACT OF NIHILISM. IT SUGGESTS THAT THE UNIVERSE IS INDIFFERENT TO OUR SUFFERING. WE LOOK FOR GOD IN THE TRAGEDY... BUT ‘ELEPHANT’ SHOWS US ONLY THE EMPTY AIR.
