An Elephant Sitting Still
Directed by Hu Bo

THIS slow-moving drama unfolds during the course of one day as it follows its three protagonists in their quest to travel by train to the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli to see for themselves the elephant that simply sits and ignores the world there.

It is an extraordinarily impressive and epic debut feature by writer-director Hu Bo but, sadly, it is his first and last as he has died at the age of 29.

The film centres on the intertwined lives of 16-year-old Wei Bu (Peng Yuchang), who pushes a school bully that has been terrorising his best friend down the stairs, resulting in life-threatening injuries, his 60-year-old neighbour (Liu Congxi) whose estranged family is determined to send him to an old people's home and Huang Ling, (Wang Yuwen) Wei Bu’s classmate, who's reeling from the aftermath of an affair with a married school teacher.

At almost four hours long, this is a drama that definitely requires stamina, but it is worth staying the course.

Bo expertly and skilfully weaves the individual narrative threads together, along with his philosophical musings on life. The result is a thought-provoking and haunting drama and one can’t help but wonder at the endless cinematic possibilities lost with Bo's demise.