Elephant - 2003 - Gus Van Sant

Here is a version of Gus Van Sant's film based on the Columbine massacre. It has Spanish subtitles - sorry about that. But, hey, it's free on YouTube.

It looks as if Van Sant wants you to bring a lot to this film to get meaning from this film. He especially seems to want you to recall a lot of your experiences in high school and to bring along your knowledge of the motives for the Columbine shootings.

It's as if he wants us to really examine the high school experience, within the context of our families and greater society, to fully understand this tragedy. What kind of stage is the American high school for the expression of human emotion and human relationships? Does it possess inherently harmful aspects or potentials?

He follows many characters throughout the school, as if he is examining the very architecture of the school itself to find possible flaws or contributing factors to the shootings. We see an environment often devoid of warmth and compassion and one in which casual cruelty has room for expression and growth. The only really kind or sympathetic adult character in the film seems to be the librarian who stands as a contrast to every other adult figure that we come across.

You can access the film by clicking on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu3VkNwftE0