And even if an elephant sitting still can be read as one mans selfimmolating act of surrender, to do so would be to ignore the film s compellingly fraught relationship with the. An elephant sitting still, the first and last feature from writer and director hu bo, is a movie that seeks to overwhelm. An elephant sitting still da xiang xi di er zuo movie. The film revolves around four main characters, each has their own story. Mar 08, 2019 and even if an elephant sitting still can be read as one mans selfimmolating act of surrender, to do so would be to ignore the films compellingly fraught relationship with the. A an elephant sitting still hu bo liu congxi peng yuchang wang yuwen zhang yu. An elephant sitting still is a phenomenal film, and without a doubt, one of. Feb 25, 2018 an elephant sitting still the debut feature written and directed by late chinese filmmaker hu bo, who took his own life last october at age 29 has been awarded the international federation. An elephant sitting still is nothing short of a masterpiece. Jul 06, 2018 if an elephant sitting still is a choral film, the song it sings is the darkest melancholy tune of contemporary china. That becomes apparent early on in the films gargantuan 234 minute runtime, as bo holds his camera on the pain and stress in his characters faces, allowing scenes to. A sense of nearly apocalyptic dread looms over the first hour of writerdirector hu bos an elephant sitting still. But how depressing to hear this film sneered at for its art house approach. Just by the title, i was expecting something lighthearted.
As a simultaneous introduction and farewell, an elephant sitting still might be one of the best movies that you will only watch once, but wont ever completely leave your mind. An elephant sitting still da xiang xi di er zuo 2019. Shortly after completing his short film man in the well and an elephant sitting still, hu bo took his own life. Teenagers wei bu yuchang peng and classmate huang ling wang yuwen struggle with abusive parents and a dead end school that is literally crumbling around them.
An elephant sitting still bo hu, the writer and director, whose first project, this project, is an almost four hour long achievement. Four people in a chinese city live through a complicated day as their lives intersect. Feb 23, 2018 an elephant sitting still began with a myth and ended up becoming a myth itself. The films director took his own life before the film was completed. The film follows four major characters over its nearly fourhour running time, each of them mired in an emotional lethargy born of exhaustion, or perhaps more specifically the exhaustion of rage. A title card follows the final frame dedicating an elephant sitting still to the memory of hu bo. By hu qian translation by alexander boyd, guizhou 24 hu qian is the pen name of the late author and director hu bo.
It is also the last, because the director committed suicide before it was released last year. While it may be effective at enhancing the films already impressive sense of realism and melancholic tone, the combination of these elements and hus understated story makes. The first and only film by the novelistturneddirector hu, who committed suicide soon after finishing his film on 12 october 2017 at the age of 29, it is based on a story with the same title from his 2017 novel huge crack. Peng yuchang, zhang yu, wang yuwen, liu congxi director. An elephant sitting still began with a myth and ended up becoming a myth itself. Cinema scope an elephant sitting still hu bo, china. Translation by alexander boyd, guizhou 24 hu qian is the pen name of the late author and director hu bo. Elephant sitting stock photos download 2,121 royalty. Sadly, its impossible to discuss an elephant sitting still without first addressing the film s director, hu bo, the filmmaker and novelist who regrettably took his own life shortly after the completion of the project. Jan 01, 2020 an elephant sitting still following an ensemble living in manzhouli, hu bos an elephant sitting still details four characters attempt to find meaning amidst the anguish of existence. Brimming with sadness and hopelessness, its tempting to perceive the film as a suicide note. Im a big fan of elephants and sitting, and i thought the movie might be under the genre of comedy, adventure, or romance.
Wei bu, a high school boy, huang ling, a girl who attends the same high school, yu cheng, a gangster related to a high school bully, and wang jin, a grandfather who is being pressured to move into a nursing home. Hardly anyone smiles during an elephant sitting stills fourhour running. The protagonist of this modern reworking of the tale of jason and the. The first and last film from the late chinese director and author hu bo has a desolate beauty. Despite the illfated events predating the movies release, the artists death serves as a mournful precursor. The 10 best arthouse films of 2019 taste of cinema movie. The 29yearold chinese filmmaker and novelist took his own life before an elephant sitting still was released, adding yet another layer of tragedy to this already despairfilled story, but its not a narrative completely devoid of hope. Discussionsimilar movies to an elephant sitting still. If an elephant sitting still is a choral film, the song it sings is the darkest melancholy tune of contemporary china. Jun 25, 2018 in an elephant sitting still, hard cuts are saved only for moving between stories or when its near real time style is unpragmatic for example, bus journeys. Download an elephant sitting still movie english subbed at. Revolving around four characters shaken out of their small town. We might never know the full story that led to that tragic decision but an elephant sitting still undoubtedly reflects some of his thoughts. The experience was in reality something far harder to engage with.
Pulp fiction 1994, the lion king 1994, alien 1979, the thing 1982. In a late entrant for contention as a possible film of the year, hu bos an elephant sitting still draws its audience into a world of pain over four brilliantly captured hours of cinema on october 8th 2017, the director and novelist hu bo met a friend for a drink in the wangjing subdistrict of beijing. In the case of an elephant sitting still, the first film by the young chinese novelist hu bo, were talking about a fourhour story of such constant despair that not a single moment of joy or literal ray of sunlight pierces its desperate drama. The film follows four central characters, as their stories are woven together over the course of a day. Now, usually, it is advised to shoot something, some short film or a video before taking on a big project like this. Watch an elephant sitting still movie english subbed online for free at. Nov 20, 2018 the films director took his own life before the film was completed. Thousands of new, highquality pictures added every day. An elephant sitting still da xiang xi di er zuo edinburgh. Having seen a large chunk of the cannes slate now, i agree that it was a really good year, but so far its mostly made up of betterthanaverage films by good great directors rather than knockdown masterpieces. The film takes its name and one aspect of its plotting from the eponymous short. An elephant sitting still is directed by hu bo and is his first feature film. In the final year of his life, 2017, he published his novel bullfrog, a short story collection huge crack, and his signature accomplishment, the film an elephant sitting still. North american premiere sure to be remembered as a landmark in chinese cinema, this intensely felt epic marks a career cut tragically short.
A lot depends on just how much sustained misery one likes to endure. Filming with a ghostly, airless palette, hu follows his cast entirely in long. Im a big fan of elephants and sitting, and i thought the movie. The film begins a short time before the shooting occurs, following the lives of several characters both in and. It takes place in the fictional watt high school, in the suburbs of portland, oregon, and chronicles the events surrounding a school shooting, based in part on the 1999 columbine high school massacre. In the following year, hu bo participated in first training camp under the supervision of bela tarr, where he completed the short film man in the well.
This elephant swells into an idea that looms in the characters minds, and lurks behind every grimy frame of the film. Hu bos an elephant sitting still is a hardbitten and mournful feature debut that will be inevitably associated with the directors suicide between the films completion and premiere at the berlin international film festival in 2018. The film closely follows four characters throughout one day. He made a couple of short films and was also a novelist, publishing two books huge crack and bullfrog in 2017. His debut feature an elephant sitting still, which was then still in progress, was selected by the first international film festival financing forum in 2016. An elephant sitting still 2018 an elephant sitting. In an elephant sitting still, hard cuts are saved only for moving between stories or when its near real time style is unpragmatic for example, bus journeys. Apart from the occasional musical relief, it is deathly quiet. An elephant sitting still is a hard film to think about, let alone write about. The first and only film by the novelistturneddirector hu, who committed. The film follows four major characters over its nearly fourhour running time, each of them mired in an emotional lethargy born of exhaustion. Elephant is a truly symphonic piece of cinema filled. Having seen a large chunk of the cannes slate now, i agree that it was a really good year, but so far its mostly made up of betterthanaverage films by good. In the northern chinese city of manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world.
For those who dont know, in my simple summarization its a 4 hour film about the lives of four people in china who live in a shitty community in a world described as a wasteland in which they have no hope for escape or improvement other than the possible existence of an elephant that sits still all day long and ignores the. Watch an elephant sitting still movie hd 720p online. The interconnected lives of four people desperate to leave their chinese town are explored in hu bos posthumously released first feature. Its visuals are murky, and the almost complete absence of certainly any additional lighting means its often hard to penetrate the scene.
His short film distant father 2014 won best director at golden koala chinese film festival, and night runner 2014 was selected by taipei golden horse film academy. At the end of hu bos an elephant sitting still, youll hear a strange sound. Teenagers wei bu yuchang peng and classmate huang ling wang yuwen struggle with abusive parents and a dead end school that is. Manzhouli becomes an obsession for the protagonists of this film, their stories told in visual compositions set over one day, from dawn till dusk, when the train to manzhouli is. Find elephant sitting stock images in hd and millions of other royaltyfree stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the shutterstock collection. Elephant is a 2003 american drama film written, directed, and edited by gus van sant. Hu bo attended the beijing film academy and graduated with a b. An elephant sitting still hu bo the most impressive film of the year for me by some margin. An elephant sitting still, a 2018 chinese film by hu bo, just under 4 hours long, enters the lives of four people and those who impact them. Mar 03, 2019 a sense of nearly apocalyptic dread looms over the first hour of writerdirector hu bos an elephant sitting still. After columbine, america was in trauma and elephant, with its dazed and disoriented feel, explores that clinical sense. Dangerous elephant show at african lion safari canada.
In his arresting final film, hu bo follows a string of characters struggling. Download 2,121 elephant sitting stock photos for free or amazingly low rates. An elephant sitting still new zealand international film. An elephant sitting still da xiang xi di er zuo body. I went in expecting to see something depressing yet captivating and cathartic. In reality, though, hus directorial debut shouldnt be. An elephant sitting still following an ensemble living in manzhouli, hu bos an elephant sitting still details four characters attempt to find meaning amidst the anguish of existence. Still, the respectful thing to do, it seems, is to treat an elephant sitting still like any other film, imagining how it would look were hu already hard at work on his next project. Manzhouli becomes an obsession for the protagonists of this film, their stories told in visual compositions set over one day, from dawn till dusk, when the train to manzhouli is set to leave. I watched an elephant sitting still recently and loved it. Manzhouli becomes an obsession for the protagonists of this film, a longedfor escape from the downward spiral in which they find themselves.
We schrijven 12 oktober 2017 en hij had net an elephant sitting still afgewerkt, zijn eerste en dus ook laatste film. His parents constantly berate him, telling him he should go live with his grandma he would, but her apartment has no heat. Select any poster below to play the movie, totally free. Mar 08, 2019 an elephant sitting still centers on four people living in an economically depressed town in northern china who each confront the ugly future ahead of them. An elephant sitting still might be the best movie youll. On imdb tv, you can catch hollywood hits and popular tv series at no cost. It is this sensation of compulsive solitude that hu bos film not only explores but also manages to render in aesthetic terms.
While the hypnotic pace of an elephant sitting still hardly ever falters, the thinly stretched plotline leaves ample space for philosophical introspection, some of which, one suspects, gets lost in translation. And even if an elephant sitting still can be read as one mans selfimmolating act of surrender, to do so would be to ignore the films compellingly fraught relationship with the. Shiraishi, though, takes this concept a step further, by eventually presenting a second layer in ogami, which offers a plot twist that turns the film completely around, both regarding the veteran, and his relationship with the rookie. An elephant sitting still is a 2018 chinese film written, directed and edited by hu bo. The film is young writer hu bos only featurelength film, shot before he. One thing that you shouldnt expect from an elephant sitting still is some artless, ragged cry of rage. An elephant sitting still might be one of the best movies that you will only watch once, but wont. An elephant sitting still da xiang xi di er zuo critics consensus a remarkable debut that sadly serves as its creators epitaph, an elephant sitting still offers an uncompromisingly grim yet. Can a completely grueling experience be worth the effort, the investment of time and self. The first, and tragically only, film from chinese novelist turned filmmaker hu bo is an ambitious and unforgettable film, reminiscent of the works of modern masters like jia zhangke and bela tarr. Running four hours and composed as a series of tracking shots, the entire narrative unfolds over the course of a day. An elephant sitting still is yet another cinematic endurance test of misanthropy and nihilism, repeating the same miserable teenage platitudes over its laborious running time my life is garbage, my life is a wasteland, the world is disgusting, etc. Revolving around four characters shaken out of their small town stupor by an enigmatic tale about a lethargic.
Sadly, this leads one to believe that the young filmmaker was suffering from the coldness of life, much like his characters on screen. So, i went into an elephant sitting still without a hint of what itd be about. The 10 best arthouse films of 2019 taste of cinema. Mar 08, 2019 a title card follows the final frame dedicating an elephant sitting still to the memory of hu bo. An elephant sitting still the debut feature written and directed by late chinese filmmaker hu bo, who took his own life last october at age 29 has been awarded the international federation. An elephant sitting still by hu bo trailer youtube. Hu bo born in 1988 in china, hu bo graduated from the beijing film academy in 2014 with a b. While circumstances are claustrophobic and stifling, bos movie seems to balance that with strange and. Nov 06, 2018 so, i went into an elephant sitting still without a hint of what itd be about. An elephant sitting still is a mournful vision of a. His debut feature an elephant sitting still, which was then still in progress, was selected by the first.
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