Elephant, by Gus Van Sant, is a cold-blooded slow-burn, a creepy calm from the predawn hours, before disaster. While there is no music and shots stretch out for ages, the film develops a kind of quiet, near dream-like atmosphere, which feels quietly unsettlingly real. Its composition corresponds to parable of blind men and elephant–providing disconnected views with no distinct response. A phenomenally cynical insight into violence and how we perceive.
