An Elephant Sitting Still (2018)

What a masterpiece!! The story reflects director Hu's own view on life / value / situation. Those main charters finally found their own dream elephant at the end of the story, so surprised and comfort. However, it's very sad to hear that this young and talent director committed suicide before the movie gets prizes in few months advanced. Hu's own dream elephant appears after his death. He should have just stood for months longer. Poverty contributes to the movie and also ends his life. A regretful irony.

CinemaSerf

7.0

Sep 11, 2025

I’ll admit to some trepidation when I sat down to watch almost four hours of what could have been a (very) still life about an elephant sitting still! Instead, it’s not really anything to do with an actual pachyderm but more a collection of stories involving four young citizens of Manzhouli. This isn’t a place where very much happens and the opportunities available to these folks aren’t really any more appealing than they were to their parents, or maybe even their’s too. “Bu” (Yuchang Peng) snaps after constantly being bullied at school; “Ling” (Uvin Wang) goes to the same school, only she’s d…

An Elephant Sitting Still is a deeply philosophical film by Hu Bo that explores profound despair through the interconnected lives of four troubled individuals seeking escape from their painful realities. Despite its nearly four-hour runtime and slow pacing, the film delivers a raw, emotional narrative with powerful performances and a haunting atmosphere, though the cinematography and ambiguous ending may leave some viewers unsatisfied. The tragic story behind its creation—Hu Bo’s suicide following creative conflicts—adds a heartbreaking layer to this already melancholic masterpiece. Read th…