The Elephant King

I saw this film at the Tribeca Film Festival on its opening night and I was quite impressed. The cinematography was amazing, the soundtrack was awesome, not only the music used but the sound editing choices. But the thing that impressed me the most was the acting. Acting can make or break a film before anything else. Ellen Burstyn delivered a breathtaking performance (as she always does). Newcomer Tate Ellington was absolutely amazing, more than capable of holding his own in scenes where he had to perform head to head with Burstyn (as his mother), he left a memorable impression that makes me want to see him in a lot more films in the future. Jonno Roberts was also quite good, full of energy and emotion.

I saw it last night and was pleasantly surprised. My girlfriend was less than pleased in how it portrayed her home country, however. Apparently, she had seen an interview with Florence Faivre before the movie, in which Florence explained that Thailand is shown in a completely positive light. She went on to say that this is the 'real' Thailand and everyone should come to see the movie to experience how beautiful Thailand is. My girlfriend, while she didn't hate the movie in and of itself, found these comments to be particularly offensive. I must explain that she's a fairly inexperienced girl, who has been exposed only tangentially to the seedier aspects of Thai life (the reason why I care for her so much, perhaps). Her rose-colored glasses couldn't cope with the stark realism the movie portrays.

And it IS realistic. Many westerners come to Thailand to run away from various responsibilities and the movie shows just how easy it is to fall into that world. Indeed, one walk down beach road in Pattaya will show you just how 'zombie-like' foreigners can become here. Of the two brothers in the film, Jake is a wonderfully constructed character. You're definitely not supposed to like him, and Jonno Roberts pulls that off well. Ellen Burstyn is good as the doting old mother, and Tate Ellington plays a passable depressed New Yorker.

For the negatives, Seth Grossman (director) seems to spend about 25% of the film showing us montage scenes of 'life in Thailand'. This mainly seems to focus on tuk-tuk rides and open-air markets. While I understand that the vast majority of audiences won't be familiar with the setting as intimately as us expats are, for a 92 minute film you need to keep the 'atmosphere' shots to a bit of a minimum. Florence Faivre mails in a cardboard performance in badly accented 'Tinglish'. While she's obviously a looker, the voice-acting just didn't do it for me. While the film was often touted as being the vehicle for Diego Quemada-Diez's cinematographic genius, I didn't find it to be too revolutionary (or anything Darren Aronofsky hasn't done better). The most negative thing of all, however, is that they cut MY scene down to about one second! Two days of shooting (and drinking) and I'm on screen for an inaudible 'thank you' when Flo hands me a Singha. Tough business, show business! All in all, I recommend this movie as one to generate a bit of discussion between Thais and foreigners. As some mentioned before, no one really comes out as 'the good guy' here, and that's a pretty realistic depiction of the human condition.

I saw this film at tribeca. I enjoyed it immensely. Especially the visuals which felt quite free and transported. I traveled with this film in a sense because it took me to a magical place.

This is a well crafted drama searching through a twisted connection between two American brothers-one an ogre, the other a quiet, retiring type-as they go on a bender through Thailand devouring women in exotic Thailand. Writer-director Seth Grossman's compelling film is topped off by memorable performances from veteran actors Ellen Burstyn and Josef Sommer as the brothers' parents. I think this is a film that deserves a place as a special film with art house value.

a story like a ladder. or labyrinth. about searches, fake victories and a place of Asia. sad, beautiful, salt for emotions and impressions. at first sigh, a basic story about a family. at the second, stage of need of sense. run against yourself. and balls of illusions, temptations, forms of hate, love and expectations. the axis - delicate performance of Ellen Burstyn. sure, it is not a surprise but the joy to admire her in a special role is seed of pure delight. her character is so fragile and wise, so strong and powerless. but she remains the character who can make things be OK. and this is secret of movie. the subtle taste of childhood and the unique patience of a mother. the small crumbs of fairy tale and the silhouette of peace in heart of dizzy storm. a film - key of questions.

Deciding to Watch a film like ELEPHANT KING is always a gamble. Ellen Burstyn was the only easily recognizable name. The DVD artwork Layout and synopsis looked interesting; shot mostly in Thailand by an international crew. So I took a chance! Lucky me! This is one gamble that paid off nicely...In the End! And I mean that BOTH literally and figuratively! Here's a direct quote from IMDb: "Jonno Roberts was Nominated for Best Actor at the Sacramento International Film Festival for 'Elephant King'. It won Best Picture and Best Score." Isn't it a rather sad commentary on the realities of film marketing and distribution that an unpretentious little wonder like this, made in 2006, only received LIMITED 2008 theater release, and took another year to be released on DVD?

The first 1/2 of the Blurb I read is erroneous. The author of that Review either didn't actually see it, or didn't pay the slightest attention to its opening minutes. Perhaps the TITLE may conjure up rather grandiose expectations of regal splendor and sumptuous royalty. However, there is certainly none of that here! There is a baby elephant, which besides offering detached moments of poignancy, also serves a pivotal symbolic and metaphoric purpose.... At least it does before the film ends.

The ensemble performances were remarkable. Seth Grossman (Butterfly effect 3) must be complimented on his understated, evenhanded direction, which, when coupled with the outstanding acting; spot on depiction of the vapid, high-energy emptiness of Thailand's nightlife and its minions; the highly believable very late-bloomer coming-of-age transformation and self-discovery of the younger brother central character; Plus the low-key ever-so-slightly surreal Buddhist/Zen spin that is imparted via a bittersweet finale that manages to neatly "THAI" together most of ELEPHANT's loose ends, make it a solid 9********* experience! ............ Before viewing ELEPHANT, I recommend you contemplate this THAI proverb: Patience and Forbearance are always rewarded with Happiness! ..... ENJOY!