The Elephant

The Elephant - Written/Produced/Directed by Kirk Langer is an excellent film, where its flaws are merely budgetary in nature. For an independent production, it rivals films with larger financing and wider viewing availability.

It calls to mind films like 'Man Bites Dog', 'A Serbian Film', 'Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer' and the works of Gaspar Noe for its hyper-daring depictions of violence. However, as a narrative depiction, it is not displays of murder merely for shock value, but has a unique vision where the intensity of bloodshed is absolutely necessary.

Its documentary-like style of storytelling is authentic and immersive for a clever audience that carries the film, and keeps the viewer engaged. The selection of music is excellent and never tries to evoke emotions by manipulation, but is the backdrop that sets the tone perfectly for each scene.

Very well done, using the compositions from '2 Steps From Hell', 'Come Find Me' by Emile Hainy, 'Promises' by Ben Howard, 'Avalanche' by Aimee Mann, '9 Crimes' by Damien Rice, the works of Passenger and 'Song To The Siren' by This Mortal Coil, to name a few. Perfectly selected by the director himself.

The Elephant is really two films in one, that suddenly collide for a 40 minute third act, that is a heart-pounding, gory, and tense. Very well filmed and edited.

'The Elephant' will no doubt find an audience that will appreciate what has been done here. It is bold, authentic, engrossing and a supurb effort for a first feature film by a virtually unknown crew of filmmakers.

• KinoKritic, Deutschland.

I wasn't sur how to rate this film.

There were so manymoments that made me want close my eyes, but I was somehow included in the story.

Sure there was intense violence, filmed in a way, that was disgusting, but so realistic that I was not convinced that the characters were not actually being executed.

On reflection, they were the most powerful scenes. And justified.

Some found it boring, but when all of the sub-textual inferances, collided in THAT ONE powerful scene, at the conclusion, I realized as a reviewer that this was exceptional writing.

The extremely violent 3rd Act, and its conclusion, made us all The Elephant.

He is US!

When that sank in, I couldn't dismiss this film as blood and guts. It was OUR blood and GUTS.

Anyone that dismissed this movie, is blind to what it is.

Sub-text, sub-text, sub-text. When SOUND OF SILENCE performed by DISTURBED, the film became concrete.

Too violent for many, and a disturbing experience, but its honest, with excellent, and beyond legacy writing.

'The Elephant' is a very good film. However loses me as an audience, simply because of the violence. There are extremely violent films, but it was this films 'depiction' of violence that turned me off as viewer. It was too realistic and authentic in the way it was filmed, making it, in certain scenes, almost unwatchable.

A scene that was 7 minutes long (which the director refused to cut) was so over the top and realistic many audience members left the theatre. That's why it loses stars from this reviewer.

It had a surreal, depressive, hopeless feel through out, which was the same feeling I felt watching the Todd Phillips 2019 film 'Joker'.

When the film goes into the forested mountains, is where the real revelations are found about the elephant, and I did like the law enforcement duo, there was excellent chemistry there.

It was a smartly written crime/detective story with very good twists and turns, no clichés and very well done. The last 40 minutes was a film inside a film and was pure tension.

This movie was way too violent for my taste, and felt too long, but what kept me in my seat was the story of the 2 investigators. This was very well written and a great look into those that investigate crime. This was a detective story for me, although much of it is very dismall to watch.

The way the movie was shot was like a documentary of True Crime, as the lawmen get closer and closer to solving the killings and finding the elephant.

I also really liked the relationship that develops between the murderer and the kidnapped woman that was very sweet at times, but then the movie rips you out of those tender moments back into the investigation.

Breing pushed and pulled in so many ways was frustrating, but I think that was the point.

I liked most the 2 crime fighters. The conclusion of the movie was fresh and totally unexpected which is something I really liked about it. Its worth seeing at least once. But stay away if your stomach is weak.

This film should be burned. I saw nothing in it that was morally uplifting or redemptive. It glorifies violence, no matter the justification for it, making it bloody for the sake of violence. I see that many disagree with me, but I sat for three hours shifting in my seat feeling uncomfortable.

The only thing I did like about it was the majestic shots of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the forest below, filled with life and innocence. It felt very much like a portrait of Eden. But just like Eden there was a snake in it, that corrupted it, drawing two parallel worlds. I thought it was strange that this is where the antagonist chose to live, while spreading bloody havoc into the streets. Maybe this was a metaphor by the filmaker, but to me, it was just over the top violence.