Starring: Jérémie Renier, Ricardo Darín, Martina Gusman
After escaping gunmen in the jungle who are looking for him
(and seeing an entire village slaughtered because of him), Belgian priest
Nicolás (Renier) finds work in Elephante Blanco (The White Elephant) an
incomplete Argentine hospital complex, now home to a slum where drug abuse,
violence and police suppression are everyday occurrences.
Set against the backdrop of an Argentinian slum (a landscape
so bleak and bloodied that its remarkable the Argentinian government even
allowed this side of their nation to be filmed), White Elephant is despite its
large scope, really a study of two priests; the young immigrant, Nicolás
(played by Jérémie Renier) and the slightly jaded, just over middle-aged Julián
(played by Ricardo Darín from the acclaimed Secrets In Their Eyes (2009)). Both
dealing with questions surrounding their faith in differing ways. Nonetheless,
the violence is often jarringly realistic and cold; although the lack of time
given to most of the other characters means that when they meet their ends, it
isn’t quite as powerful as needed. The film does have some extraordinary
sequences thrown in, mostly when the action slows down and augmented by a
surprising but appropriate brassy orchestra but the film lacks a little of that
same gravitas on a consistent level. If you like your drama gritty and
uncompromising, have at it, but don’t expect anything life-changing.
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