The Elephant and the Sea
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Release Year:
2007
Story:
The Elephant and the Sea follows the lives of two individuals in the aftermath of a water borne disease that strikes their fishing village. Has there been a disaster? A deadly epidemic? A week after the disease takes the life of his wife, Ah Ngau, a fisherman by trade, is sent home with $300 in aid from the government and a cardboard box of useless “donations” from the public. Instead of grieving for his wife, Ah Ngau appears to have found a new sense of freedom, meeting a prostitute and experiencing a long delayed sexual awakening. Yun Ding makes a living doing an assortment of odd jobs, following his big brother, Long Chai around. Mostly they cheat and hustle their way around, living off the naiveté of the public. When Long Chai succumbs to the disease, Ding has to make it on his own. But can a person with no direction in his life find something to hold on to?
The Elephant and the Sea follows the lives of two individuals in the aftermath of a water borne disease that strikes their fishing village. Has there been a disaster? A deadly epidemic? A week after the disease takes the life of his wife, Ah Ngau, a fisherman by trade, is sent home with $300 in aid from the government and a cardboard box of useless “donations” from the public. Instead of grieving for his wife, Ah Ngau appears to have found a new sense of freedom, meeting a prostitute and experiencing a long delayed sexual awakening. Yun Ding makes a living doing an assortment of odd jobs, following his big brother, Long Chai around. Mostly they cheat and hustle their way around, living off the naiveté of the public. When Long Chai succumbs to the disease, Ding has to make it on his own. But can a person with no direction in his life find something to hold on to?
Casts & Crews:
Woo Ming Jin
Directors
Runtime:
98
minutes
Language:
Reference:
Torino International Film Festival (Special Jury Prize)
Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival (Best Director Award & Critics Award)
DIBA Barcelona Film Festival (Best Director)
Lisbon Village Film Festival (Grand Prize)
Rotterdam International Film Festival
Los Angeles International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Torino International Film Festival (Special Jury Prize)
Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival (Best Director Award & Critics Award)
DIBA Barcelona Film Festival (Best Director)
Lisbon Village Film Festival (Grand Prize)
Rotterdam International Film Festival
Los Angeles International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Director‘s Statement:
I wrote The Elephant and the Sea as a personal reflection of the county I knew growing up. In 1999, an epidemic called Japanese Enchiphilitis struckmy hometown of Ipoh and wiped out the pig farming industry. It also killed over a hundred people. Many families, including my own, stopped eating pork for more than 6 months even after the epidemic was gone. This outbreak was a precursor to the SARS and bird flu virus that is looming over the region now.
The Elephant and the Sea to me is a film about emotional paralysis. Both Ah Ngau, thefisherman, and Yun Ding, the drifter, are everyday people on the peripheral of society. They hope for a way out of their rut through superstitious beliefs (like finding winning lottery numbers on a fish), though these superstitions may have been manufactured by their own opportunistic countrymen.
Even as they stumble through life, they get little help from others. The government, while on the surface appears to be sympathetic to their plight,offer only superficial help, while the public uses a donation drive to unload their trash and unwanted belongings.
To me, the film and its characters have an equilibrium that is constantly rocked. Just like the Ying and Yang of Buddhism, both Ding and Ah Ngau will pay for the consequences of their actions.
The Elephant and the Sea is a small film with universal themes that are familiar to us. The people in the film, just like many in real life, are “stuck” at a juncture in their lives, not smart enough to know the answers to solve their predicaments, yet the inherent inertia that is life will spur them on. Good or bad, life will go on.
The Elephant and the Sea to me is a film about emotional paralysis. Both Ah Ngau, thefisherman, and Yun Ding, the drifter, are everyday people on the peripheral of society. They hope for a way out of their rut through superstitious beliefs (like finding winning lottery numbers on a fish), though these superstitions may have been manufactured by their own opportunistic countrymen.
Even as they stumble through life, they get little help from others. The government, while on the surface appears to be sympathetic to their plight,offer only superficial help, while the public uses a donation drive to unload their trash and unwanted belongings.
To me, the film and its characters have an equilibrium that is constantly rocked. Just like the Ying and Yang of Buddhism, both Ding and Ah Ngau will pay for the consequences of their actions.
The Elephant and the Sea is a small film with universal themes that are familiar to us. The people in the film, just like many in real life, are “stuck” at a juncture in their lives, not smart enough to know the answers to solve their predicaments, yet the inherent inertia that is life will spur them on. Good or bad, life will go on.
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Casts & Crews
Woo Ming Jin
Director
