This Chinese drama is undoubtedly one of the best films from the last decade that sadly flew under the radar.
Cast - Peng Yuchang, Zhang Yu, Liu Congxi, Wang Yuwen
Directed By - Hu Bo
Genre - Drama
In Hu Bo's terrific drama, characters are tightly closed in a single frame, but they never have felt so distant and disconnected with each other. There faces (since it is psychological) occupy the screen, trapping them within its confines. They are trapped in their minds with feelings of guilt, regret and crime. Wei Bu (Peng Yuchang) is on the run for killing a bully who happens to be the brother of Yu Cheng (Zhang Yu) who is in the guilt of being responsible for the death of his friend after he sleeps with his wife and now is in search of Wei Bu. Wei Bu's classmate Huang Ling (Wang Yuwen) shares a troubling relationship with her mother and falls for the school's vice dean. She lives in an apartment where another resident Wang Jin (Liu Congxi) is told to shift at a nursing home.
There is no scope of happiness in this story where the characters are forbidden to smile. Even rarely when they do, it doesn't stand for any joy. This is a gloomy world of China with washed colours and grim atmosphere (cinematography by Fan Chao). At a time when movies desperately try to nudge in an action or a dialogue every second to keep engaged, An Elephant Sitting Still relaxes and gives plenty of time to transform actors into characters and then into human beings. It is a rare feat. Every moment is captured with patience. People listen and react to the dialogues, which is something not found in many modern movies. They sit down slowly, take a deep breath, calm their nerves (or lose it) and then respond to an action. At times, it almost becomes a cinematic biography. Consider the scene where Wei Bu and Yu Cheng meet near the railway tracks, notice how the conversations are authentic and style (the way Cheng smokes while talking) cinematic, which is true for every scene in the film. They peddle masterfully between reality and melodrama, a sheer indication of the brilliant craft on display.
The characters want freedom from there gone-to-hell life. One of them talks about going to see an elephant who just sits. Ultimately, a quest for peace is required from all the chaos in there life. Pick up subtle hints, connect the dots and you will see the reason behind many choices like how the absence of a father may have drawn Huang Ling to fall for the vice-dean or how the shots of Wei Bu and Yu Cheng are match cut to show a similar headspace of thoughts resulting in a moment of acceptance. Talking of acceptance, An Elephant Sitting Still also deals with its characters coming to terms with there situations. In one scene, Yu Cheng finally accepts his mistake and realizes that not the friends wife but it was he who was responsible for the suicide and calls the friend's mother. In another one, Wang Jin declares to move in a nursing home. Wei Bu realizes how things could never be the same back again while Huang Ling takes freedom after running from her home.
Trains make up for another frequent sight. They are always moving and are never shown standing at a station. A fitting motif as our characters keep drifting from one area to another. The railway lines crossing each other represent the intersection of our characters in each other's lives.
I had some minor issues like the moment where Wang Jin gives a speech about the grass being greener on the other side and how the next action changes everything. I didn't buy in the way Wei Bu's friend decided to handle that gun. For a movie that before was meditating, the final portions seemed to be in a rush for a conclusion. Though I didn't find the massive four hours of runtime to be a huge problem, there were slight moments, few and far between, when the pacing seemed to reflect the duration. If the movie is a stream of water, then these moments were like small rocks which create minor hurdles but don't heavily impact the flow.
This movie had its world premiere in the Forum section of the 68th Berlin International Film Festival. The director Hu Bo sadly committed suicide after finishing this film, making this his first and last cinematic feature. It is a great loss to have such an exceptionally talented mind to be no longer with us, and this movie makes us wonder about his great career that could have taken shape. Remember Bong Joon-Ho's speech on subtitles? Well, do overcome that barrier and try to discover this overlooked feature. Don't sit still.
Rating - 4/5
Cast - Peng Yuchang, Zhang Yu, Liu Congxi, Wang Yuwen
Directed By - Hu Bo
Genre - Drama
In Hu Bo's terrific drama, characters are tightly closed in a single frame, but they never have felt so distant and disconnected with each other. There faces (since it is psychological) occupy the screen, trapping them within its confines. They are trapped in their minds with feelings of guilt, regret and crime. Wei Bu (Peng Yuchang) is on the run for killing a bully who happens to be the brother of Yu Cheng (Zhang Yu) who is in the guilt of being responsible for the death of his friend after he sleeps with his wife and now is in search of Wei Bu. Wei Bu's classmate Huang Ling (Wang Yuwen) shares a troubling relationship with her mother and falls for the school's vice dean. She lives in an apartment where another resident Wang Jin (Liu Congxi) is told to shift at a nursing home.
There is no scope of happiness in this story where the characters are forbidden to smile. Even rarely when they do, it doesn't stand for any joy. This is a gloomy world of China with washed colours and grim atmosphere (cinematography by Fan Chao). At a time when movies desperately try to nudge in an action or a dialogue every second to keep engaged, An Elephant Sitting Still relaxes and gives plenty of time to transform actors into characters and then into human beings. It is a rare feat. Every moment is captured with patience. People listen and react to the dialogues, which is something not found in many modern movies. They sit down slowly, take a deep breath, calm their nerves (or lose it) and then respond to an action. At times, it almost becomes a cinematic biography. Consider the scene where Wei Bu and Yu Cheng meet near the railway tracks, notice how the conversations are authentic and style (the way Cheng smokes while talking) cinematic, which is true for every scene in the film. They peddle masterfully between reality and melodrama, a sheer indication of the brilliant craft on display.
The characters want freedom from there gone-to-hell life. One of them talks about going to see an elephant who just sits. Ultimately, a quest for peace is required from all the chaos in there life. Pick up subtle hints, connect the dots and you will see the reason behind many choices like how the absence of a father may have drawn Huang Ling to fall for the vice-dean or how the shots of Wei Bu and Yu Cheng are match cut to show a similar headspace of thoughts resulting in a moment of acceptance. Talking of acceptance, An Elephant Sitting Still also deals with its characters coming to terms with there situations. In one scene, Yu Cheng finally accepts his mistake and realizes that not the friends wife but it was he who was responsible for the suicide and calls the friend's mother. In another one, Wang Jin declares to move in a nursing home. Wei Bu realizes how things could never be the same back again while Huang Ling takes freedom after running from her home.
Trains make up for another frequent sight. They are always moving and are never shown standing at a station. A fitting motif as our characters keep drifting from one area to another. The railway lines crossing each other represent the intersection of our characters in each other's lives.
I had some minor issues like the moment where Wang Jin gives a speech about the grass being greener on the other side and how the next action changes everything. I didn't buy in the way Wei Bu's friend decided to handle that gun. For a movie that before was meditating, the final portions seemed to be in a rush for a conclusion. Though I didn't find the massive four hours of runtime to be a huge problem, there were slight moments, few and far between, when the pacing seemed to reflect the duration. If the movie is a stream of water, then these moments were like small rocks which create minor hurdles but don't heavily impact the flow.
This movie had its world premiere in the Forum section of the 68th Berlin International Film Festival. The director Hu Bo sadly committed suicide after finishing this film, making this his first and last cinematic feature. It is a great loss to have such an exceptionally talented mind to be no longer with us, and this movie makes us wonder about his great career that could have taken shape. Remember Bong Joon-Ho's speech on subtitles? Well, do overcome that barrier and try to discover this overlooked feature. Don't sit still.