IMDb RATING
7.8/10
7.9K
YOUR RATING
Four people in a Chinese city live through a complicated day as their lives intersect.Four people in a Chinese city live through a complicated day as their lives intersect.Four people in a Chinese city live through a complicated day as their lives intersect.
- Awards
- 18 wins & 40 nominations
Uvin Wang
- Huang Ling
- (as Wang Yuwen)
Xiangrong Dong
- Dean
- (as Xiang Rong Dong)
Zhao-Yan Guo-Zhang
- Bu's father
- (as Guozhang ZhaoYan)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsWhen Huang Ling jumped from the window, the camera was reflected on the other window in front.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Story of Film: A New Generation (2021)
Featured review
Wake-up Call
An Elephant Sitting Still (China, Hu Bo, 2018) - High rise apartment towers across the horizon, relentless walls of concrete, ceaseless din of traffic, consuming smog, darkness, indifferent eyes and a once wild elephant pacing back and forth in chains; modern China in a nutshell. Each character of An Elephant Sitting Still mirrors the gigantic nation. Confessions of pain met with hostility and suspicion, relationships without love, heartlessness, veiled threats, unhappiness and all characters - young and old, male and female - in limbo, alienated and alone.
After completing this bleak film the director, 29 years old, killed himself. It is a four-hour testament to what the lack of hope feels like. The scenes, characters and stories melt into each other. The camerawork is up close and personal, and it seems like a continuous take. The ambient sound of traffic is occasionally broken by calming electronic music. Having recently been to China I experienced some of the concrete, indifference and cruelty envisioned here by Hu Bo. Yet I also witnessed wonders and beauty in the natural world, city streets and people's hearts that provide perspective and counter points to all the misery. In this sense An Elephant Sitting Still is a wakeup call to what we might become unless we can harness our better instincts and natures. As such the film is wonderful, insightful and mesmerizing. Four and a half of five stars.
After completing this bleak film the director, 29 years old, killed himself. It is a four-hour testament to what the lack of hope feels like. The scenes, characters and stories melt into each other. The camerawork is up close and personal, and it seems like a continuous take. The ambient sound of traffic is occasionally broken by calming electronic music. Having recently been to China I experienced some of the concrete, indifference and cruelty envisioned here by Hu Bo. Yet I also witnessed wonders and beauty in the natural world, city streets and people's hearts that provide perspective and counter points to all the misery. In this sense An Elephant Sitting Still is a wakeup call to what we might become unless we can harness our better instincts and natures. As such the film is wonderful, insightful and mesmerizing. Four and a half of five stars.
helpful•83
- Blue-Grotto
- Dec 25, 2019
- How long is An Elephant Sitting Still?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Un elefante sentado y quieto
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $32,556
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $10,854
- Mar 10, 2019
- Gross worldwide
- $39,599
- Runtime3 hours 50 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was An Elephant Sitting Still (2018) officially released in India in English?
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