Claysaba
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
TeenzTen
An action-packed slog
Juana
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
KissEnglishPasto
............................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA and ORLANDO, FL ****There Is a Phrase In This Review That Might Be Considered a SPOILER!*****Deciding to watch a film like ELEPHANT KING is always a gamble. Ellen Burstyn was the only easily recognizable name. DVD artwork Layout and IMDb synopsis looked interesting; shot mostly in Thailand by an international crew. I took a chance! Lucky me! This is one gamble that paid off nicely-In The End-BOTH literally and figuratively! Here's a direct quote from IMDb: "...won Best Picture/Best Score at Sacramento International Film Festival. Jonno Roberts was Nominated for Best Actor." It's a rather sad commentary on the realities of film marketing/distribution that an unpretentious little wonder like this, made in 2006, only received Limited 2008 theater release, and took another year to be released on DVD! The first half of the Blurb is erroneous. The author either didn't: A) Actually see ELEPHANT, or B) Missed the opening minutes, orC) Didn't pay the slightest attention to the opening.Perhaps the TITLE may conjure up grandiose expectations of regal splendor and sumptuous royalty. There is certainly none of that here. There is a baby elephant, which besides offering detached moments of poignancy, also serves a pivotal symbolic and metaphoric purpose, at least before the film ends. Incidentally, the ensemble performance was remarkable.Seth Grossman (Butterfly Effect 3) must be complimented on his understated, evenhanded direction, which, when coupled with the outstanding acting; spot on depiction of the vapid, high-energy emptiness of Thailand's nightlife and its minions; the highly nuanced very late-bloomer coming-of-age transformation and self-discovery of the younger brother central character; as he finally manages to free himself from the gravitational pull of his slacker older brother; Plus the low-key ever-so-slightly surreal Buddhist/Zen spin that is imparted via a bittersweet finale that manages to neatly "THAI" together most of ELEPHANT's loose ends, make it a solid 9* experience! Before viewing ELEPHANT, I recommend you contemplate this THAI proverb: Patience and Forbearance are always rewarded with Happiness!.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome! KissEnglishPasto@Yahoo.com
Armand
a story like a ladder. or labyrinth. about searches, fake victories and a place of Asia. sad, beautiful, salt for emotions and impressions. at first sigh, a basic story about a family. at the second, stage of need of sense. run against yourself. and balls of illusions, temptations, forms of hate, love and expectations. the axis - delicate performance of Ellen Burstyn. sure, it is not a surprise but the joy to admire her in a special role is seed of pure delight. her character is so fragile and wise, so strong and powerless. but she remains the character who can make things be OK. and this is secret of movie. the subtle taste of childhood and the unique patience of a mother. the small crumbs of fairy tale and the silhouette of peace in heart of dizzy storm. a film - key of questions.
catmmo
I enjoyed the way this movie portrayed the relationship between two brothers; and the way they each dealt with their individual problems. The actors who played the brothers both did a fantastic job. Unlike other reviews, I didn't find the showing of different places in that area of Thailand to be overdone, much of it was during the scenes where the younger brother is getting to know the girl, Lek, and play in well to the the story.One problem with the movie was lack of subtitles during parts where they weren't speaking English. I'm not sure if that was a flaw because of watching it on a DVD or not. It made certain parts of the movie a bit difficult to understand, but it wasn't too hard to get the gist of what was going on.
Maria Mangiameli
I saw this film at the Tribeca Film Festival on its opening night and I was quite impressed. The cinematography was amazing, the soundtrack was awesome, not only the music used but the sound editing choices. But the thing that impressed me the most was the acting. Acting can make or break a film before anything else. Ellen Burstyn delivered a breathtaking performance (as she always does). Newcomer Tate Ellington was absolutely amazing, more than capable of holding his own in scenes where he had to perform head to head with Burstyn (as his mother), he left a memorable impression that makes me want to see him in a lot more films in the future. Jonno Roberts was also quite good, full of energy and emotion.
