An Elephant Sitting Still (China, Hu Bo, 2018) - High rise apartment towers across the horizon, relentless walls of concrete, ceaseless din of traffic, consuming smog, darkness, indifferent eyes and a once wild elephant pacing back and forth in chains; modern China in a nutshell. Each character of An Elephant Sitting Still mirrors the gigantic nation. Confessions of pain met with hostility and suspicion, relationships without love, heartlessness, veiled threats, unhappiness and all characters - young and old, male and female - in limbo, alienated and alone.
After completing this bleak film the director, 29 years old, killed himself. It is a four-hour testament to what the lack of hope feels like. The scenes, characters and stories melt into each other. The camerawork is up close and personal, and it seems like a continuous take. The ambient sound of traffic is occasionally broken by calming electronic music. Having recently been to China I experienced some of the concrete, indifference and cruelty envisioned here by Hu Bo. Yet I also witnessed wonders and beauty in the natural world, city streets and people's hearts that provide perspective and counter points to all the misery. In this sense An Elephant Sitting Still is a wakeup call to what we might become unless we can harness our better instincts and natures. As such the film is wonderful, insightful and mesmerizing. Four and a half of five stars.
After completing this bleak film the director, 29 years old, killed himself. It is a four-hour testament to what the lack of hope feels like. The scenes, characters and stories melt into each other. The camerawork is up close and personal, and it seems like a continuous take. The ambient sound of traffic is occasionally broken by calming electronic music. Having recently been to China I experienced some of the concrete, indifference and cruelty envisioned here by Hu Bo. Yet I also witnessed wonders and beauty in the natural world, city streets and people's hearts that provide perspective and counter points to all the misery. In this sense An Elephant Sitting Still is a wakeup call to what we might become unless we can harness our better instincts and natures. As such the film is wonderful, insightful and mesmerizing. Four and a half of five stars.