Elephant

One of the best pieces of decidedly conceptual cinema I've seen. Apparently this is just random people shooting random people dead for no apparent reason. But the fact that all of them (killers AND victims) are men, and the setting (Northern Ireland) are ample evidence of what the general background is. The technique - tracking shot, then static handheld shot - is brilliant. I just really recommend watching this - shouldn't analyze it although I'm tempted to. Just watch it and be affected.

I watch this and I'm unaffected by its repetition. You get the picture after the 3rd murder. After the 4th or 5th killing I started laughing at how seriously it takes itself. After the 10th killing I got painfully bored. After the 15th or 16th killing I was angry at how it says very little and makes you feel nothing at all. It's like watching a man-child play murder with his dolls - amusing at first but mostly inane. I'm suspicious of people who are "moved" by this.

Harrowing and cold, this is an obvious concept for a film, but one pulled off with an effective amount of cynicism and bleakness. However, it does stray too far into objective representation, and becomes repetitive and undermines the further killings through desensitisation. The other 'Elephant' says more about violence and murder.

If the title suggests that what's missing is understanding of the socioeconomic context, nevertheless the combination of: 1) tracking shot following perpetrator; 2) Bressonian focus on hand-firing-gun; 3) slain victim, suggests that the invention and availability of firearms itself opens the possibility for their deliberate and methodical use, forcefully pursued, as a "rationalised" means independent of any particular end. Look for the Commodore, Australia's first world-class car (says the ad).

It's ridiculus and stupid - that's why it's brilliant.

Confrontational and haunting, my kind of cinema.

I get that the lack of context is intentional, a way to emphasize the film's point about how senseless acts of violence loom over mundane daily lives. Even so it takes away from the impact, and especially when the whole thing lasts 40 minutes a little more commentary would be a good thing.

It's powerful. Without knowing a bit about the Troubles and the like, it seems like random acts of violence, but it gives us an unbiased glimpse at the problems, specifically the violence. It feels like a documentary, which helps but I don't know if you'd want to watch it more than once.

18 killings, shown back to back for 40 minutes in an incredibly stark manner. For most of the run-time the effect is startling with a palpable sense of dread to the whole thing and a gut response that the killings have to stop (and with no context given to the killings they are allowed no sense of justification - they are merciless and utterly pointless). By the end I found my interest waining considerably due to the highly repetitive nature of it all, which for all I know could be the point.

Chilling, engrossing, billiant.

My immediate thought was, wow, might this be the most misanthropic movie I've seen? But discovering the context was illuminating. I can only imagine the feeling of turning on the television in '89 and this is on, and it's that situation which I believe lends this film it's shocking, raw power.

The best 40 minutes of senseless and meaningless killings, but it takes more than that to make a strong statement. I still prefer Van Sant's version.

A series of executions set in and around my home city of Belfast. I have a strong suspicion that these are actually re-enactments of murders that actually took place here.

I can see how some enjoy it, but if I'm watching a short, I want it to be a little less plodding. Just my preference

This is a divisive piece, but I think it's an interesting use of the medium to make its point. It's not necessarily something I would recommend to anyone without knowing a ton about them, but I thought the nearly silent movie concept and complete lack of context did a lot to show what living in these times (not far gone) must have been like as far as paranoia and confusion. Interesting, though some will despise it.

I'm just glad Van Sant delivered this technique out of its spiritual misery.