i love the voyeuristic feeling when a filmmaker leaves the camera idly focusing on everyday characters and circumstances. gus van sant does this repeatedly throughout elephant, and these are the most rewarding moments in an otherwise disappointing film.

the problem with this movie is that van sant tried to make a statment about youth violence. i wish he had simply stuck to the style of the opening of the film, letting the camera graze on the everyday problems of typical youth. problems with parents. interest in the opposite sex. instead, the film follow the trajectory of two fucked up kids who go on a violent gun-laden rampage through their high-school.

the stillness and the patience of this film are beautiful. the way the camera follows various characters around their daily routine is intriguing in its banality. it's the life that we've moved past now that we trudge off to work every day and are becoming (or already are) parents ourselves. van sant captures the life of youth in a way that is rare, comparable only to the (unsurpassable, really) films of larry clark.