Green elephant on the culture channel. Green elephant movie

To the other answers (most of them absolutely correct), I would like to add that in “The Green Elephant” one can - and should - look for meaning beyond memeticism and absolute inhumanity. The presence of such a meaning makes it popular among that part of the audience who are inclined to look for some kind of message in film works as a type of art. Although, what is there, in the case of “The Green Elephant” any viewer first gets acquainted with the memes, and only then with everything else. But this is the cost of the form. In my opinion, if “Elephant” was just a collection of meaningless, albeit funny, phrases, eating excrement, violence, blood and murder, it would hardly have become so popular. “Elephant” is a completely complete statement and a logical story that produces (even without blood and crap) a very depressing impression. In this regard, in my opinion, " Green elephant" can be compared with some of Balabanov's films, minus the fact that he is much more marginal.

The director of the film, Svetlana Baskova (other works - "Five Bottles of Vodka", "Head", "For Marx...", etc.) is a fairly radical artist of leftist views, and in her films there is always a social subtext, expressed, as a rule, in the most trashy, trashy form possible. “The Green Elephant,” according to film critic Andrei Plakhov, is “a cruel anti-militaristic parable.” Baskova herself expressed the same point of view in an interview, calling the film shot in 1998-1999 a reaction to the Chechen War.

On the one hand, the anti-war message is clearly visible - “Elephant” exaggeratedly depicts what power and the atmosphere of violence bring people to. Epifantsev's hero, Bratishka, at the beginning of the film - relatively normal person, goes crazy, unable to withstand the surrounding hell, and becomes a murderer. The heroes of Osmolovsky and Maslaev (Chief and Security Guard) are the embodiment of the abomination of power: one of them enjoys complete permissiveness and does whatever comes into his head - from lectures about the Japanese admiral Yamamoto to sexual violence, the other crawls on his knees in front of his superiors, envying him and dreaming of his impunity. The hero of Pakhom, Poezhashiy, is a harmless idiot who is humiliated and mocked by everyone, and in the end he becomes a monster by the end of the picture, falling asleep among the bloody bodies (but the only one, by the way, remains alive). All the heroes are in officer uniforms. It is quite clear what the army and war have to do with it.

On the other hand, according to the same Baskova, the film, against the backdrop of silence Chechen war was supposed to show that you need to talk about everything and in any language: “The film was shot so sincerely, with pain and youthful enthusiasm, protest, that (perhaps) it captivates with openness and showing that there is another life.” True, in the same interview, the director admits a few sentences later: “I don’t know why The Green Elephant is so popular. I really don’t know.”

Splatter
tragicomedy
trash
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"Green elephant"- a film in the trash genre, shot on amateur film in 1998-1999 by Russian director Svetlana Baskova. The film deals with taboo topics such as sadism, coprophilia and homosexuality. The film was awarded a III degree diploma in the section of full-length feature films of the “Amateur Cinema” competition of the CF “Love Cinema!-2000” in Moscow.

Plot

The film takes place, perhaps, in 1986 - this is hinted at by the poster hanging by the guard in the room; besides, all the characters wear Soviet uniforms. To the guardhouse, the walls of which are painted poisonous green color, two junior officers are caught for disciplinary offenses: the “traveling” officer Sergei Pakhomov and the “brother” Vladimir Epifantsev. Having reached end point appointment, the officers discover that pipes are leaking in the guardhouse, and at the beginning of the film they try to solve this problem. Realizing that this problem cannot be solved with improvised means, both lieutenants begin their dialogue. The dialogue began with a discussion of various philosophical problems, as well as the army stories of two lieutenants. Having done several push-ups on the floor of the guardhouse, the “traveled” officer begins to take the conversation in a completely different direction, telling his “brother” about how he first had sex with a drunk woman, how he ejaculated on her, how he defecated in the sea, how he tasted feces, and also about how he was almost made redundant during compulsory service. At first, the “brother” laughed at the stories of the “travelling” officer, but gradually they began to bore him greatly. Noticing that the “brother” began to run out of patience, which was already not gigantic, the “traveler” tries in every possible way to entertain his interlocutor, offering to play cards or checkers made from dirt and paper. “Brother” gets furious at such ideas and tries to calm down the “one who went”, asking him to just keep quiet. However, the “goer” does not calm down and offers to do push-ups on the floor. The interlocutor agrees, but instead of watching, he begins to put pressure on his opponent, telling him to do good push-ups. In response to the words of the interlocutor, “after all, we are people,” the “brother” completely loses his temper and tells the “goer” to just shut up. And this time the “going” officer does not shut up, repeating the phrase “after all, we are people.” For repeated repetition of this phrase, the “brother” rips off the shoulder straps from the interlocutor. “The one who went” begs the second officer to give him his shoulder straps on the condition that he himself dances like a heron on one leg. Laughing, the “brother” agrees to the deal, but instead of handing over his shoulder straps, he begins to beat his interlocutor. Despite the pain from the blows, the “goer” proposes another crazy idea - to perform an act of defecation on the floor in order to rid the “little brother” of supposedly annoying flies. For this idea, the “brother” beats his interlocutor a second time. In response to the screams of the traveler, “security guard” Alexander Maslaev comes and sends his “little brother” to “work.” The job turns out to be cleaning the toilet using a fork. Not knowing how to clean a toilet with a fork, the “brother” cannot cope with the task. Seeing that the “little brother” is not doing his job, the guard shows how to properly clean the toilet with a fork and leaves. But this time, too, the “brother” cannot cope with the job, and, angry, the guard sends the prisoner back to the “one who went.” The “goer” asks his friend why he is so sad and begins to sing a song he composed about a green elephant. After this, both officers go to bed, and the action of the first part of the film ends.

“The Green Elephant” is an example of underground cinema. The film received many negative reviews critics. From the audience - mostly positive. The actors of “The Green Elephant” became popular among young people. After all, most often it is students who are fans of films in the trash genre. Who starred in "The Green Elephant"? The actors and roles of the cult film of the early 2000s are the topic of the article.

In the cell

The film "The Green Elephant" is based on a poignant social problem relationships between people in a closed system. Actors Pakhomov and Epifantsev recreated on the screen the dialogue between two eccentric personalities.

In the center of the picture is the story of two officers who committed a violation of military order and ended up in a guardhouse. Once in a cramped cell, they experience the full range of feelings inherent in a person deprived of freedom. Oppressively green walls, poor lighting, a musty smell - all this can turn the awareness of imprisonment into psychosis. The actors of “The Green Elephant” transferred to the screen the emotions of people who found themselves in a difficult situation. psychological point view, environment. And this commands some respect. After all, one of them had nothing to do with cinema before filming the film “The Green Elephant”.

Actors

Director scandalous famous film- Svetlana Baskova. Actors of "The Green Elephant":

1. Sergei Pakhomov (officer with obvious mental disabilities).
2. Vladimir Epifantsev (also an officer, quite sane at the beginning of the story).
3. Alexander Maslaev (security guard).
4. Anatoly Osmolovsky (head of the guardhouse).

The film is shocking with its extreme naturalism and depiction of senseless cruelty. Its plot caused a storm of anger in cinematic circles. What is the picture about? Which philosophical meaning carries the story of two officers who find themselves in a guardhouse and gradually lose their minds? And finally, what do the actors of the film “The Green Elephant” think about the plot? Reviews of the film are presented below. But first it’s worth telling how the story in the cell ended.

Conversation in the guardhouse

The officers do not lose their fortitude and show attempts to cooperate. Soon they start a conversation. “The one who went”, a native of the village (Sergei Pakhomov), begins to tell his “brother” (Vladimir Epifantsev) entertaining stories. He talks about his life, focusing on its most striking moments. At first, the “brother” is amused by the stories of his cellmate. But soon the stories of absurd behavior begin to irritate, and he, in a rage, tears off the shoulder straps of the “ridden” one. All the following actions of the village officer only fuel the flames of anger, and the “brother” severely beats him several times. A guard comes to the cries for help and brutally punishes the young officer for beating a cellmate.

Fantasies of "traveling"

But the surprises don't end there this evening. Pakhomov's hero wakes up his cellmate and invites him to taste his own excrement. To the surprise of the “traveler,” the offer is rejected. Moreover, this act plunges the officer into shock, and he begins to call for help. It is this act that becomes the prerequisite for the fatal denouement of the film.

Climax

The appearance of the guardhouse commander only aggravated the current situation. Bullying of the officer’s personality, even if he is devoid of any intelligence, cannot go unnoticed, and has an impact on the “brother” strong impression. A further chain of events forces him to brutally kill the head of the guardhouse and commit suicide. The film is filled with cruelty, absurd actions and vivid dialogues.

This cult movie became a symbol of “trash” in Russia. The film belongs to the “Amateur Cinema” category and in 2000 was awarded the “Love Cinema” award. “The Green Elephant” was filmed with one video camera over two days and in two places. The title of the film is inspired by a song that was repeatedly performed by the hero of Sergei Pakhomov. This motif became the final chord in the lives of several characters and the film itself.

The film takes place in the mid-eighties at a guardhouse, where two military men ended up for various reasons. Their nicknames, which the heroes call each other, are Poezhavshiy and Bratishka. The prisoners are in a cell whose walls are painted green. The traveler asks Brother what time it is and wonders if he can feel it. Then the Traveler tells Brother various stories and not very useful facts for him about Chinese health exercises, poverty in China and the USSR, moreover, all this alternates with a story about the personal life of the Traveler himself. The Traveler also asks Brother what kind of relationship he has with women. The traveler remembers the time when his mother said that everything would be fine in his life, but the father, looking at his son, on the contrary, disagreed with this statement. The brother begins to plan his escape, but seeing that he will not get out of prison death blow electric shock will not work, he changes his mind about doing it. Next, Brother continues to listen to the stories of the Traveler, which take more and more unexpected and perverted turns every minute.

At a certain moment, Poezhaschiy tells how he trained, having signed up for boxing on the advice of his mother, but at the very first sparring, having been punched in the gut, Poezhaschiy refused to train. Little Brother asks to show Poezhashy how he hits, allowing him to hit himself in the stomach. Since the blows of the One who drove, even at point-blank range on a standing enemy, do not really reach the target, Little Brother can only laugh. The prisoner invites his cellmate to make cards, and then checkers, making them from dirt and cigarette papers. The brother, who at first treated everything with humor, understands with whom he ended up in the cell. The little brother begins to behave aggressively and lashes out at Poezhayshiy, considering him to be an unconventional person sexual orientation and abnormal.

The little brother unsuccessfully asks the Traveler to shut up, but he cannot calm down, talking about the humiliations in the army that he went through, moreover, he says that he enjoyed some of the humiliations. At this time, another character of the whole action is shown - the guard, after he walks along the corridor and moos, the events are again transferred to the cell of the main characters, and there, the Traveler begins to do push-ups in front of Brother. Next, the Traveler begins to talk about himself and Brother as if there were not two of them in the cell, but several people. This irritates my little brother even more; he threatens to kill the One who has gone. Tired of the Ride, the enraged Brother rips off his shoulder straps. The one who went asks Brother to return his shoulder straps, for this he even tells him that he is ready to stand on one leg like a heron. The Traveler stands on one leg like a heron and cooes, Brother laughs, and then beats the Traveler.

Almost immediately after the beating, the Traveler wants, as it seems to him, to help Brother by defecating on the floor in order to kill the annoying flies that will disturb his cellmate’s sleep. The little brother beats the Poekhaschiy again. Hearing the screams, a guard enters the cell and sends Little Brother, in his own words, to work, and the job is that Little Brother will have to clean the toilet with a fork. However, on the spot, Brother deliberately stalls for time, realizing that he will not be able to do the “work” with a fork. Later, the guard comes to check on Brother's affairs, seeing that he did not cope with the task, the angry guard takes Brother back to his cell. In the cell, having decided to cheer up Brother, the Traveler begins to sing a song he personally composed about the “green elephant”. After some time, Little Brother falls asleep.

While Little Brother is sleeping, the Escaped One defecates in their common soup bowl, and then makes a real mess all over the cell, at the same time eating his own excrement. The traveler wakes up Brother and invites him to eat the result of his digestive activity from the plate, calling it all sweet bread. The brother begins to freak out and call the boss, but the security guard comes to the screams again and sends him again to clean the toilet. While Little Brother is “at work”, the captain, who is also the boss, enters the cell. The captain also behaves strangely, giving Poezhayushchy a lecture about the Pacific theater of operations during World War II. Dissatisfied with the fact that the Poyevshiy knows nothing and cannot answer various historical questions normally, the boss pushes the guard to beat the Poyevshiy, which the guard does.

Brother and Poezhashy are taken to a basement-type room with a pit. The captain mocks him in every possible way, and Little Brother goes crazy, subsequently he beats the captain, rapes him and brutally kills him. Realizing what he has done, Little Brother commits suicide by cutting his wrists. Only the Traveler remains alive, since the guard, who had previously left the premises for a while and later returned to it, decides to hang himself. Finally lost human face The one who goes falls asleep among the corpses.

“The Green Elephant” is one of the most controversial films in Russian cinema. It has been discussed for more than 10 years. The actors of “The Green Elephant” forever inflicted upon themselves the stigma of being participants in this film. This film can safely be called one of a kind. It is rightfully considered a cult.

Cuts and still images from the film have become real Internet memes.

“Green Elephant”: actors and roles

“The Green Elephant” is a film in the genre of psychedelic trash. There are not many films of this type in Russian cinema. “Elephant” was directed by Alexandra Baskova. She specializes in similar paintings. All of her films are quite difficult to understand. The plot in “ZS” (a common abbreviation for “The Green Elephant”) is practically absent. The focus is on two main characters - Vladimir Epifantsev in the role of the “brother” and Sergei Pakhomov in the role of the “traveler”. They are military prisoners in the guardhouse. In addition to them, the captain and chief appear in the frame, played by Alexander Maslaev.

It is quite difficult to describe the events, since a significant part of the timing is filled with incomprehensible, absurd action. For example, the phrase “These goats still...” is repeated more than five times without explanation. The first half hour is pretty self-explanatory. They show prisoners living in difficult prison conditions. The actors of “The Green Elephant” play very convincingly and believably, so an unsuspecting viewer may have a feeling of the reality of what is happening.

Acting

Epifantsev plays a reserved officer.

He does not smoke and tries to endure his imprisonment with dignity. To calm down, the hero even practices Chinese meditation. But the Traveler is a slob and constantly pesters Little Brother with his questions and stories. Gradually, his stories become less and less authentic, the logic is completely lost. Pakhomov got used to the role quite well, perhaps this was facilitated by the actor’s eccentric behavior in real life. After the first 20 minutes, the degradation of the Traveler begins to manifest itself more and more. He constantly asks endless questions and suggests doing strange things, such as relieving himself on the floor, in order to attract flies and then kill them. Little Brother reacts quite adequately and tries in every possible way to rationally explain to Poezhayshi the absurdity of his actions. Then his patience runs out, he begins to insult his counterpart and even beat him. The actors of “The Green Elephant” act out the dialogues very realistically.

The contrast between the stupid and illogical actions of Little Brother who has gone crazy and the reasonable aggression of Little Brother evokes laughter.

Features of the film

It is worth noting that the film was shot on amateur film. Moreover, laughter and the operator’s voice can be heard in the frame, and the filming itself is carried out in a psychedelic style.

Halfway through the film something new appears. actor- Boss. He takes Little Brother outside the cell and forces him to clean the toilet with a fork. After this, the most incomprehensible stage of the film begins.

The hero sings the song “Green Elephant”. The film shows some pretty disgusting scenes and events. The one who went defecates on the floor, then eats his own feces and wakes up Brother with an offer to have breakfast with them. At the same time, the entire process is shown to the viewer, including Pakhomov’s genitals. After this scene, Epifantsev also begins. The climax of the film is quite difficult to perceive and understand. The actors of "The Green Elephant" beat each other, rape, and even eat. The camera shows all these events without hesitation.

Fame

Svetlana Baskova directed the film “The Green Elephant” in 1999.

The film gained real popularity only in 2010. At that time, it began to quickly spread across the Internet and became known to the general public.

Many critics are still arguing about the main message and meaning of the picture. Baskova herself considers it a kind of protest against the corrupting public values and wars. Despite the presence of shock content, the film even took part in various festivals.

In the early 2000s, Russia saw the film “The Green Elephant”. Vladimir Georgievich Epifantsev at this moment had already begun to confidently move along acting path. He was invited to star in various budget films and TV series. Therefore, Vladimir tried not to advertise his participation in Baskova’s creation.

“Elephant” was demonstrated at several small festivals in Germany and a number of other European countries. Basically, these were shows for narrow circles of connoisseurs of counterculture and psychedelia. Therefore, practically no data, including reviews, from these festivals has been preserved.

Pakhomov

For Sergei Pakhomov, the film only added to his fame.

Pakhom (creative nickname) himself is an artist. For some time he worked as editor-in-chief in several serious glossy publications. In the media, he skillfully created the image of a freak. After 2010, he recorded several video blogs, which instantly spread across the Internet. The figure of the artist has become truly iconic. His popularity even led Sergei to participate in the program “Battle of Psychics,” where he acted as a clairvoyant. Videos with his participation have received hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.