The short life of Chinese novelist-turned-filmmaker Hu Bo recalls that of the late Marcin Wrona, except it is even more tragic. Both killed themselves before receiving the international accolades bestowed on their final films. In the case of Hu, it was also his first (finished under the supervision of his parents and a sponsoring arts group), but it is quite a statement—running just a whisker under four hours. An auspicious and heartbreaking debut, Hu’s “An Elephant Sitting Still” screens during this year’s New Directors/New Films (ND/NF), giving ironic meaning to the festival’s very name.
Arguably, “Elephant” could be considered a Chinese descendant of Theodore Dreiser’s “An American Tragedy” for the way it portrays personal corruption as a symptom of societal corruption. It is also long, but it never feels excessive.
