An Elephant Sitting Still

What a masterpiece!! The story reflects director Hu's own view on life / value / situation. Those main charters finally found their own dream elephant at the end of the story, so surprised and comfort.

However, it's very sad to hear that this young and talent director committed suicide before the movie gets prizes in few months advanced. Hu's own dream elephant appears after his death. He should have just stood for months longer.

Poverty contributes to the movie and also ends his life. A regretful irony.

Ill admit to some trepidation when I sat down to watch almost four hours of what could have been a (very) still life about an elephant sitting still! Instead, its not really anything to do with an actual pachyderm but more a collection of stories involving four young citizens of Manzhouli. This isnt a place where very much happens and the opportunities available to these folks arent really any more appealing than they were to their parents, or maybe even theirs too. Bu (Yuchang Peng) snaps after constantly being bullied at school; Ling (Uvin Wang) goes to the same school, only shes decided to do a bunk from her own home and then theres Cheng (Zhang Yu) who has some suicidal demons to address. To finish off this quadrumvirate, Mr. Wang (Zi X...

An Elephant Sitting Still is a deeply philosophical film by Hu Bo that explores profound despair through the interconnected lives of four troubled individuals seeking escape from their painful realities. Despite its nearly four-hour runtime and slow pacing, the film delivers a raw, emotional narrative with powerful performances and a haunting atmosphere, though the cinematography and ambiguous ending may leave some viewers unsatisfied. The tragic story behind its creationHu Bos suicide following creative conflictsadds a heartbreaking layer to this already melancholic masterpiece.

Read the full review here: (Indonesian version : alunauwie.com)