Gus Van Sandt started his career with edgy films such as directing the unforgettable "My Own Private Idaho" and later producing such controversial projects as "Kids." He later went more commercial with films such as "Finding Forrester." Van Sant returns to his independent roots with "Elephant," a mind-blowing, numbing, and chillingly real film that will not easily leave your mind. The film observes a typical day in a suburban high school, following different students throughout the school day. Nothing much happens for a long while, but early in the film you get a sense of impending doom. For this "typical school day" ends in violent, bloody chaos. It is a climax that will never escape your memory. The film is inspired, obviously, by the rash of school massacres that rocked the late 90's, beginning in Pearl, Mississippi, and culminating with the worst of the worst, Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Van Sandt handles this material without any preaching or moralizing. There are no explanations given. Why do teenagers today act so disinterested, not seeming to care much about anything? What lures some kids to severe depression and violence? Parents and politicians, who DO NOT have the answers, frantically blame movies, music, television, and video games. You will not find that too-simple explanation here. Who's to blame? Van Sant doesn't pretend to know, and the government also shouldn't pretend to know. These are turbulent times we live in, and I can see- somewhat- how young people today feel. I'm 34, but I'm young enough to know that teenagers today know that they have been fed lie after lie after lie since they were born. Marijuana is dangerous! You'll die! Sure, sure, sure. Kids today know that isn't true. We have Clinton getting it on with young interns, George Bush sending our kids to Iraq to get slaughtered, more violence on the news than any movie, and a hardened culture of youngsters who know they have been lied too. You will not find any easy answers in this film, just like you won't find any easy answers in real life. Cheers to Gus Van Sant for such an audacious, uncompromising film. Only parents who live in REALITY should watch this film; teens who watch it will easily recognize it as the world they live in.
