KissEnglishPasto ............................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA and ORLANDO, FL ****There Is a Phrase In This Review That Might Be Considered a SPOILER!*****Deciding to watch a film like ELEPHANT KING is always a gamble. Ellen Burstyn was the only easily recognizable name. DVD artwork Layout and IMDb synopsis looked interesting; shot mostly in Thailand by an international crew. I took a chance! Lucky me! This is one gamble that paid off nicely-In The End-BOTH literally and figuratively! Here's a direct quote from IMDb: "...won Best Picture/Best Score at Sacramento International Film Festival. Jonno Roberts was Nominated for Best Actor." It's a rather sad commentary on the realities of film marketing/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 half of the Blurb is erroneous. The author either didn't: A) Actually see ELEPHANT, or B) Missed the opening minutes, orC) Didn't pay the slightest attention to the opening.Perhaps the TITLE may conjure up grandiose expectations of regal splendor and sumptuous royalty. 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 before the film ends. Incidentally, the ensemble performance was 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 nuanced very late-bloomer coming-of-age transformation and self-discovery of the younger brother central character; as he finally manages to free himself from the gravitational pull of his slacker older brother; 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/DISFRUTELA!Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome! KissEnglishPasto@Yahoo.com

turnpike A young New Yorker travels to Chiang Mai on an anthropological research grant and quickly loses himself in drink, drugs and loose women. Sound familiar? Substitute gender, nationality and mission as needed, and this plot could be about many foreigners who arrive in Thailand intent on noble causes and find themselves a bit distracted.The Elephant King was shot almost entirely on location in and around Chiang Mai, Thailand's northern capital, and one of the film's primary characters is Chiang Mai itself. A montage of muddy city walls and steaming moats, 7-Elevens and abandoned housing estates, Space Bubble disco and Wat Chet Yot, night markets and old wooden houses, the city's paradoxical grit and grace have never before been so well-captured in any feature film, Thai or international. The script in fact turns Chiang Mai into a microcosm of Thailand, thrusting Western stereotypes about the country to the fore - and then turning them inside out.But the core story isn't about Chiang Mai or Thailand at all, but about Jake (Jonno Roberts) and Oliver (Tate Ellingham), two brothers locked in a bully-victim relationship which both are struggling to transcend. Expat life in Chiang Mai, and their competing love for the same bar girl (Florence Vanida Faivre) merely serve as catalysts for the relationship to achieve its bloody catharsis.Several parts of the film, including the opening sequence, were shot in New York and include memorable performances from Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood) and Josef Sommer (The Enemy Within, An American Story), playing the brothers' parents, Diane and Bill. As a father envious of his sons' carousing in Thailand, Sommer provides several of the film's best comedic moments. Burstyn shines during her time on film, playing the weepy, overly-doting mother with textbook technique.Because co-producer DeWarrenne Pictures is a Thai-registered company, the screenplay did not need advance government approval. This means we get an unvarnished - if somewhat Western-orientated - look at Thai culture and society. If and when the film does receive distribution in Thailand, there's a good chance some scenes will be censored for depictions of drug use and sex, even though these elements are neither overly graphic nor gratuitous to the story.Although this is writer/director Seth Grossman's first feature film, I'd say chances are good to excellent that the effort will be well received critically. The film pegs Grossman - an NYU film grad who loosely based the movie on his own experiences living in Chiang Mai as a Princeton-in-Asia scholar four years ago - as something of a story-telling genius.His art film attitude - which is thankfully more substance than pose - is ably assisted by the intense cinematography of Diego Quemada, a disciple and close associate of camera wunderkind Rodrigo Prieto of 21 Grams fame. Whether or not the film does well commercially, The Elephant King could easily reap a few international film festival awards, perhaps even becoming an underground classic along the lines of Trainspotting.

marty416 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.

Maria Mangiameli 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.