Do Elephants Pray? (2010) User Reviews

Terrible, alienating off the beaten track independent drama

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 4/10 · 30 December 2013]

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Callum (Jonnie Hurn) is in the advertising world, but feels like he's losing his soul. One day, pretty French girl Malika (Julie Dray) comes his way, and offers to broaden his horizons, taking him on a spiritual journey across London and in to Europe, where he's forced to confront his demons while stopping arrogant arch rival Marrien (Marc Warren) from usurping his throne at work.

Boston Kickout director Paul Hills delivers this superlative independent drama that's taken it's time to secure a release date, and seems to have been shelved for some years now. This is undoubtedly to do with how illusive it would probably prove to the average cinema goer, an artsy, off the beaten track production with it's own morals and new age values that would probably only appeal to a very certain crowd. And, indeed, this low budget effort certainly does prove very alienating and fails to draw you in to the story or the characters.

It's low budget enough to almost feel like a student effort, amateurishly shot and produced, with Warren probably the most high profile star there, which really says it all. If the film itself feels pretentious and preachy, then the characters are even more so, especially one character. Malika will get under your skin like no other, with her intermittent outbursts of happy and sad, prodding and pressing our main protagonist all the way until you wonder why he doesn't just strangle her in the middle of a dense forest with no witnesses around. Warren's arch rival comes off as cartoonishly obnoxious, leaving you to wonder how he can maintain employment with such an abrasive attitude. Hurn is probably the most natural, empathetic character in the show, a wave of calm in a sea of crazy.

When you think about it, the title's enough to give away the tone of the film. And I should have adhered caution. **

Slightly better than a student film

[truthsee · 3/10 · 7 September 2015]

I wont go into the plot in other than to say that this is a boring idea with the main lead man who was actually the writer and director and producer and stars in it... yeah you get it, vanity publishing at its best. The DVD wouldn't play in my machine or PC properly because the disk was badly authored. I had to rip the files to my PC and watch the files of the final 5 minutes on a media player! I cant understand why people are shooting stuff on video and then processing it with so much film grain as to make it look nasty to watch. Also this being shot on video was not 2.35 anamorphic aspect and as such they have created the DVD with Black Bars top and bottom. Great thanks for making this a high grain, low resolution watch. The performances were believable but trite - you think the writer would have tried to write himself a better part. Do all French policemen walk around vast woodlands with their automatic weapons in hand pointed in front of them with no shoulder sling when there is absolutely no threat and nothing happens. Errrm, hello? That cop must have great muscles! The twee end to the movie which compresses everything that the movie comes to be about into a 1 minute montage where the lead man also gets all the women and becomes a fully balanced man that women now seem to want - Im reaching for the sick bucket. Seems like you could have dispensed with the first hour and made this "movie" a short and still got the whole of the story in there. I felt like I was just watching visual padding.

Go on and Be Enlightened!

[s_o_s68 · 9/10 · 22 May 2010]

If anyone is looking to experience what a spiritual film should feel in terms of shaking awareness, look no further than Do Elephants Pray? The inner voyage begins literally from the very first frame, taking us into a realm that will leave an unforgettable trace. Following the struggle of the main character to decipher his doubts engages into that intensely human search faced with a crisis that needs to be confronted 'with the forehead against the night'. At certain parts, when the images and sounds lure us deeper into the forest, a Buddhist thought comes to mind regarding that sensation that 'at the deepest recesses of the forest, the mystery is still there'. All along the film, the camera performs extremely subtle moves that mysteriously shift the focus of awareness. To experience higher realms of consciousness is not easy matter, even if the event of projecting light through darkness is a perfect environment for it. But XXI century spectators rarely have their well-deserved chance. This film invites the audience with open arms to take the jump and go high. Don't avoid it because it will surely touch some strings, and even if it doesn't, at least you will be able to say that you have been moved by the most amazing psychotropic trip ever filmed. Never before a cinematic pill has gone so far into that land of the beyond and back! Check it out without risking disappointment! After all, it takes courage to change

Wandering A Forest In An Office Suit

[jafar-13 · 9/10 · 20 June 2010]

One doesn't need to have experienced office life to connect with the characters in Do Elephants Pray; one doesn't need to have spent days wandering a forest in an office suit to enjoy Do Elephants Pray. One does, however, need to relate to what it must feel like to be in either situation to be fully immersed in the world that writer-director team Jonnie Hurn and Paul Hills conjure up on the screen.

Their starting point is not the cliché of disparaging a 9 to 5 existence; they draw characters whose work is part of who they are. Callum used the proceeds from the sale of his house to set-up an advertising agency in London with his long-term friend Sark. The symbolism is not lost on the viewer - the character has sacrificed his home in order to pursue his dream of independence at work.

Where the forest and the office meet is the legacy of millions of years of primal behaviour that these past few millennia of human civilisation have yet to tame. On the boardroom table, the struggle for power, that we euphemistically call "office politics", is over who creates a product campaign theme for an important client; it may as well be about who becomes the chief of the clan. For a senior member of staff - or is it the chief in waiting - named Marrlen, wants to make the pitch himself; he is after the chief's position.

The haven of calm in which Callum takes refuge from the battle at work is a Tai Chi class and the budding emotions he's developing for a fellow student.

These two worlds throw up a third plateau that sees Callum leave town and head to a magical French forest led by Malika, a young woman free from the burdens of the day-to- day that stifle Callum's sense of purpose. This return to a "state of nature" is one where the stones and sticks of office politics are pushed into the background by Malika's exuberance and zest for life; she takes Callum deeper and deeper into the forest and closer to the point of equilibrium he yearns for. When he returns from a swim in the "Lake of No Return" we feel a change is afoot; a change for the serene.

Rather than opt for the obvious happy ending, the makers of Do Elephants Pray take us back to the story's starting point, allowing Callum to share with us his newfound lucidity and sense of purpose as he hooks himself back into the realms of the office and the Tai Chi class.

Director Paul Hills successfully guides his leads through the opposing and overlapping tug of materialism and mysticism at this juncture in the life of the characters. Inspiring performances from Jonnie Hurn, Julie Dray and Mark Warren.

Highly recommended.

a bold yet understated indie

[huskieblues · 9/10 · 10 May 2010]

I'm a sucker for films that defy categorisation, and this film certainly does that. It's a beautifully crafted British indie that favours story over convention. That said, the story is an archetypal journey: man leaves his hollow life, goes on a journey, and comes back full.

The cinematography is simple and beautiful, with the scenes in the French forest suitably magical. The performances are a curious blend between understated and outrageous. Great support from Marc Warren (to be expected) and John Last (who holds his own spectacularly next to Warren).

The film is bold in that the lead, Callum, isn't the most affable of protagonists, and his co- lead is quite irritating as a character. But she is HIS foil, not ours, and this is where the story wins over and doesn't fall into giving the audience stereotypes that we can all swoon over. It also makes Callum's reluctance to continue the journey all the more real.

It's a magical story that could easily make it a chick-flick, but doesn't (largely because of the brash masculinity and language of the male supports!) - this is a film that you need to see open minded, and without preconception. Then it is provocative and rewarding.

I hear it's been picking up festival wins, and it deserves every one. Can't wait to see it on general release.

Intelligent, visually stimulating, a nice journey

[robin-jones-724-279600 · 8/10 · 27 April 2010]

Do Elephants Pray is a wonderfully mastered Indie Film. With great contrast of natural and urban settings as well as corporate themes being derailed by more organic themes, this movie has it all. The intensity of the journey of the main character (played by Jonnie Hurn) and the lighthearted banter of Julie Dray's character provide a nice contrast with the corporate world that Marc Warren and the office staff provide to the story. Jonnie is a believable stodgy Englishman that meets the colorful character Malika (Julie Dray) and follows her into the unknown and into the next incarnation of his life through intense physical and witty conversational moments. Malika appears to be other worldly in her infinite wisdom of life.

The crowds in the festival I viewed this had many laughs, a few ah ha moments, and great questions at the question and answer session for Paul Hills. The soundtrack is another one of the nice details that help keep this movie connected to the audience and to the story. Well done, I saw it twice during the festival and would love to see it again.

Devine & Intriguing

[gpowell-12 · 8/10 · 24 May 2010]

I was drawn to this film by its captivating title, expecting some religious undertone message but instead I was pleasantly surprised to watch a warm and funny movie.

Julie Dray's performance was a joy to watch, she is an absolute delight on the screen and a pure natural. Its as though her character was specifically written for her. I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more of her in the future.

It's a beautifully shot film which left me yearning to just switch of my computer, shut my office door and take off into a forest.

Recommended.