Elephant (TV Movie 1989)

Elephant: Directed by Alan Clarke. With Gary Walker, Bill Hamilton, Michael Foyle, Danny Small. A depiction of a series of violent killings in Northern Ireland with no clue as to exactly who is responsible.

“Director Alan Clarke knew instinctively that to make a film about the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, could be politically suicidal. The violence was still going on when this film was made in 1989, after all. This is why u0026quot;Elephantu0026quot;, in my opinion, was a stroke of genius. It doesnu0026#39;t get bogged down trying to walk the fine line of being neutral on such an explosive issue and appearing downright biased. No film about Irelandu0026#39;s u0026quot;Troublesu0026quot; will satisfy both Protestant and Catholic. The seeds of this catastrophe began when the British government decided to partition Ireland Ireland in 1921. Though the population of Northern Ireland was both Catholic and Protestant, the Catholics were in the minority, and were outrageously discriminated against by a political machine that was heavily Protestant. Thatu0026#39;s not to say that the Catholic population were not also responsible for incidents of provocation. Violence erupted on the twin anniversary of the Battle of The Somme and The Easter Uprising: the governmentu0026#39;s response was to bring in troops from Britain to control the violence. Then, in 1972, a British Parachute regiment killed thirteen demonstrators during a civil rights march, forever after known as u0026quot;Bloody Sunday.u0026quot; From then on, the frequency of the confrontations between Catholic and Protestant, escalated and grew in intensity – in one year alone, over 500 men, women, and children were killed due to what was basically u0026quot;Religiousu0026quot;, as it was about self-rule. In thirty years, an estimated 3523 people lost their lives. Alan Clarkeu0026#39;s answer in making a film about the u0026quot;Troublesu0026quot;, is u0026quot;Elephant.u0026quot; It is not the definitive film about Northern Ireland, but it is a brave, and I think successful, attempt, that Alan Clarke should be praised rather than denigrated. They say an elephant never forgets. Once seen, youu0026#39;ll never forget this film. Itu0026#39;s interesting that Gus Van Sant used the same title for his film about the random act of violence at Columbine High School. Incidentally, eighteen years after his death, a boxed set of the films Alan Clarke is best known for, includes u0026quot;Scumu0026quot; (both the TV and theatrical release), u0026quot;The Firmu0026quot;, u0026quot;Made In Britainu0026quot;, and u0026quot;Elephantu0026quot;, is finally available.”