Ay caramba, if I had a dollar for every bad studio film I've seen I could retire in Florida. A nickel for every bad independent film and I could buy an island in Tahiti.
American cinema has aged and grown enough in the last forty years where we laud the underdog and secretly hate the "studio-meddling flicks." Sadly, if you've seen enough "indie" or student films, you know that they can be just as bad--if not worse--than their bigger comrades.
Make no mistake, I love Ridley Scott's expensive pains as much as David Lynch's. Money is no item when it's done right. But 'Elephant' is just a tremendous gaffe.
This movie got me further incensed at Cannes. I started wondering why this slow, non-linear film was so celebrated...when the smug 'MASH' won over the wonderfully similarly constructed 'Catch-22' some thirty years ago. I guess Cannes cares more for making grand statements than actual cinematic form, but sobeit. I'm just surprised they haven't given Oliver Stone an award yet.
Everything is all about the characters (and something about inevitability and fate), but it's been done better before. Do we need cheapskates like Van Sant to strut around like they are smarter than everyone else by pretending they are realistic? I'm giving up on films that try to be "realistic." This movie certainly isn't. Any "average" American high school has at least ten times more kids wandering the halls. There would be five times more profanity in the conversations. If a film is such a large, complicated endeavor (even "small" ones like this) with so many nuances, why waste it on characters? Why spend five minutes following someone around instead of exploring on your own?
Sorry, but Mike Nichols already did everything right in 'Catch-22:' same content, more intelligent form, and a big smiling budget.
American cinema has aged and grown enough in the last forty years where we laud the underdog and secretly hate the "studio-meddling flicks." Sadly, if you've seen enough "indie" or student films, you know that they can be just as bad--if not worse--than their bigger comrades.
Make no mistake, I love Ridley Scott's expensive pains as much as David Lynch's. Money is no item when it's done right. But 'Elephant' is just a tremendous gaffe.
This movie got me further incensed at Cannes. I started wondering why this slow, non-linear film was so celebrated...when the smug 'MASH' won over the wonderfully similarly constructed 'Catch-22' some thirty years ago. I guess Cannes cares more for making grand statements than actual cinematic form, but sobeit. I'm just surprised they haven't given Oliver Stone an award yet.
Everything is all about the characters (and something about inevitability and fate), but it's been done better before. Do we need cheapskates like Van Sant to strut around like they are smarter than everyone else by pretending they are realistic? I'm giving up on films that try to be "realistic." This movie certainly isn't. Any "average" American high school has at least ten times more kids wandering the halls. There would be five times more profanity in the conversations. If a film is such a large, complicated endeavor (even "small" ones like this) with so many nuances, why waste it on characters? Why spend five minutes following someone around instead of exploring on your own?
Sorry, but Mike Nichols already did everything right in 'Catch-22:' same content, more intelligent form, and a big smiling budget.