An Elephant Sitting Still: filmmaker Hu Bo’s bitter indictment of contemporary China
The tale of friends sharing the pain of existence was both a cry for help and social critique, with the director committing suicide upon the film’s completion
Although An Elephant Sitting Still is not autobiographical, its depiction of existential despair is personal, and it can be read as a comment on the human condition as well as a social critique. In spite of its dark subject matter and abject misanthropy, the thoughtful nature and technical brilliance of the film offer rewards, even enlightenment, to patient and resilient viewers.
Hu studied filmmaking at the Beijing Film Academy, but had become known as a writer, and the film is a loose adaptation of a short story of the same name published in his second book, Huge Crack (2017).
Set in a bleak unnamed town in northern China, the film opens with a mention of the elephant of the title, a powerful beast that is oblivious to the troubles of the world. The elephant is the antithesis of the characters, who are buffeted, beaten and abused by those who surround them, and feel the pain of their existence intensely.
With a duration of almost four hours, An Elephant Sitting Still is an ensemble work that follows a group of characters throughout one day before bringing them together. While protecting his friend, 16-year-old Wei Bu (Peng Yuchang) pushes a school bully down a flight of stairs and seriously injures him. The bully’s gangster brother (Zhang Yu) comes looking for Wei, and he goes on the run.