White Elephant (2012)
"Elefante blanco" (original title)

While working alongside his long-time friend and colleague in building a hospital for the residents of a Buenos Aries shantytown, a troubled priest finds solace in a young, atheist social worker.

Director:

Pablo Trapero

Writers:

Alejandro Fadel, Martín Mauregui,

Stars:

Ricardo Darín, Jérémie Renier, Martina Gusman

6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ricardo Darín	...	Julián
Jérémie Renier	...	Nicolás (as Jeremie Renier)
Martina Gusman	...	Luciana
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Miguel Arancibia	...	Capataz
Federico Barga	...	Monito
Esteban Díaz	...	Chato
Pablo Gatti	...	Sandoval
Walter Jakob	...	Cruz
Raul Ramos	...	Obispo
Susana Varela	...	Carmelita
Julio Zarza	...	Danilo

Storyline

The "Villa Virgin", a shantytown in the slums of Buenos Aires. Julian and Nicolas, two priests and long-standing friends, work tirelessly to help the local people. Julian uses his political connections to oversee the construction of a hospital. Nicolas joins him following the failure of a project he was leading in the jungle, after paramilitary forces assassinated members of the community. Deeply troubled, he finds a little comfort in Luciana, a young, attractive, atheist social worker. As Nicolas' faith weakens, tension and violence between the slum drug dealing cartels grow. And when work on the hospital is halted by ministerial decree, the fuse is lit...

---

Plot Keywords:

slum | social worker | priest | jungle | faith | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Argentina Spain France

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

17 May 2012 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Bialy slon

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$5,098 (USA) (29 March 2013)

Gross:

$7,519 (USA) (5 April 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ARTE, Canal Plus, Canal+ España

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Antes que sea tarde: Diego Peretti (2012)

---

Soundtracks

"Las cosas que no se tocan"
Written by Pity Álvarez
Performed by Intoxicados

User Reviews

Sensational drama in which various priests help unfortunate people in slums of Buenos Aires similarly to Pope Francisco I

Very good movie excellently performed by Argentina big star , Ricardo Darin . This Cannes selected film contains a fascinating , brooding story , perfectly acted and concerning the narration about the construction a hospital of riveting manner . The "Villa Virgin", a shantytown in the barrios of Buenos Aires. Julian (Ricardo Darin) and Nicolas (the French Jeremie Renier) , two priests and long-standing friends, work tirelessly to help the local people. Julian uses his political connections to oversee the building of a hospital. Nicolas unites him following the flop of a mission he was leading in the jungle , after paramilitary forces assassinated members of the community. Deeply troubled, he finds a little comfort in Luciana (Martina Gusman), an enticing social worker . As Nicolas' faith weakens, tension and violence between the barrio drug dealing cartels grow. And when work on the hospital is halted by ministerial decree , the fuse is lit...

This is a co-production Argentina/Spain/France , being well paced , skillfully edited and very interesting . The picture is plenty of thrills , intense drama , a love story , violence and thought-provoking issues . After splendid collaboration between Pablo Trapero and Ricardo Darin in a thriller titled ¨Carancho¨ , this relationship worked out so well that they're doing it again . Trapero's Elefante Blanco seems like a very likely candidate to turn up in becoming quite simply one of the best films of its year . The insightful storyline relies heavily on the continued relationship among three protagonists but it isn't tiring ; being entertained and with numerous diverting moments and agreeable feeling . Darin and Jeremie Renier star as priests coping in very different ways with the violence and corruption in the Buenos Aires slum of Villa Virgen where they work , both of them carry out excellent performances along with Martina Gusman playing as an atheist social worker . However , Ricardo Darin steals the show as the obstinate priest , Darin is a magnificent leading figure of the most important Argentinian movies such as ¨El Aura¨, "El Faro" (1998), "El Mismo Amor La Misma Lluvia" (1999), "Nueve Reinas" (2000), "La Fuga" (2001) and especially ¨El Hijo de la Novia¨ . Evocative production design filmed on location in barrios and slums from Buenos Aires , Capital Federal and Plaza Guemes . Emotive as well as sensitive musical score by the British Michael Nyman . Colorful and adequate cinematography by cameraman Guillermo Nieto . The motion picture well produced by Alejandro Cacetta and Juan Vera , was compellingly directed by Pablo Trapero . Trapero is a good filmmaker , his best film was ¨Carancho¨, dealing with a slow burning exercise in moral decay and his usual actress results to be Martina Gosman who has worked in various film with him , such as : ¨Lion's den¨ , ¨Nacido y Criado¨ , ¨Carancho¨ and of course this ¨Elefante Blanco¨ . This dramatic flick is an above average film and Argentina's official submission to the Cannes Film Festival and achieved several Awards of the Argentinean Academy. Indispensable and essential seeing for Ricardo Darin fans .