Elephant (2003) is a film by director Gus Van Sant, an account of a school shooting in fictional Watt High School, in Portland, Oregon. Van Sant was awarded Better Director & too a ''Palme d'Or prize at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival for this film.

The title

A title occurs as tribute to the Alan Clarke, 1989 film for BBC, also known as Elephant'', which reflected around sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Van Sant likewise portrays school violence when something unfathomable, non unlike numbers of more perturbing items in the survives of adolescent, which invite handy explanations however finally frustrate analysis.

Van Sant has explained a "elephant" idea within many ways, besides a directly information to Clarke's sooner function. These are an allusion to the proverbial "elephant in the living room", a big condition that there is no 1 talks all about however everyone must buy their way about when it set about their every day endures. It besides invokes a Indian parable about the blind wise men who, unable to grasp a whole, interpret a elephant only in terms of the a portion it potty comprehend: "An elephant is a tree", said a blind human world health organization grasped a leg; "An elephant is a snake", said a of these world health organization touched a trunk; etc. Eventually, when you took a news conference at Cannes, Van Sant mentioned that a originative staff experienced besides experimented sustaining allusions to certain policies & attitudes represented per Republican Party, whose party symbol is an elephant.

Filming location
A motion-picture show was filmed at Whitaker Middle School within nor'-east Portland, Oregon; which had been closed in the summertime of 2001 because of air-quality problems. For a twenty-day course of cinematography, the production company reopened area of the school and used numerous extras to replicate a sense of an actual location.

North American premiere and release

Elephant premiered inside North America at a profit for a youth shelter held at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, around Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, October 4, 2003. A film was freed for incremental distribution by HBO, in Hundred theaters in the United States, beginning October 24. English language release in DVD and VHS began on May 4, 2004.

Before its distribution, a film generated minor contestation & divided reviews ensuing a Cannes debut, particularly in the gay community. In the flick them male killers kiss a single a second in the shower prior to it dispassionately begin their Columbine-like frenzy of murder.

Unconventional method

Van Sant originally arranged to produce the film for television about the Columbine massacre, shortly after the event; a idea of a factual account was eventually dropped. A approach chosen is described by reviewers when "poetic" & "dreamlike", & by Van Sant himself as a rejection of conventional narrative, building in what he learned from either operate on Gerry. A script was "written" to its final form when you took shooting, by using cast members improvising freely & collaborating in the counsel of scenes. Higher-&-coming gay author J.T. LeRoy, a friend of Mr. Van Sant's, wwhen among a writers, & is credited as associate producer for the film.

Characters
A teenaged actors were chosen for a area according to interviews & their ability to improvise prior to the camera. A select few of a characters were developed from either either details selected from the interviews.

Alex - Harassed by jocks, accomplished however frustrated pianist and sketch artist. His advice to Eric: "Have fun". Performed by Alex Frost. Eric - Slacker, Alex's right friend & a more killer. John McFarland - Managing his alcohol-dependent father, he has pain at school Mr. McFarland - John's father, world health organization is an alcoholic Mr. Luce - Principal of the school Gay-Straight Alliance - An organization at several senior high which will bring open-minded humans together for fun likewise when other good discussion Nathan & Carrie - Popular lifeguard and football player and his girlfriend Elias - Photography student building his portfolio with portraits of more students. Michelle - a withdrawn girl ashamed of her person, a film follows her through the locker room & into the library in which she helps. Brittany, Jordan & Nicole - Three bulimic "teenyboppers" who talk incessantly, gripe about parents and squabble with one another Benny - Variety & unafraid student world health organization rescues Acadithe by helping her go for it away from a window. Acadia - John McFarland's girlfriend & member of the Gay-Straight Alliance

Numerous of the independent characters' list come when a matter of fact a equivalent as their real-life equivalents. A select few of a habits shown in a flick (aside from either the shootings) come treat the very cast likewise, sustaining Eli existence an actual lensman & Alex actually swimming the piano when you took his scenes (likewise when incident music elsewhere).