''White Elephant'' ( es, Elefante blanco) is a 2012 Argentine

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Pablo Trapero Pablo Trapero (born 4 October 1971) is an Argentine film producer, editor, and director.Pablo Trapero
at the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

'' section at the

2012 Cannes Film Festival The 65th Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian film director Nanni Moretti was the President of the Jury for the main competition and British actor Tim Roth was the President of the Jury for the Un Certain Regard section. ...

Plot

Two priests, the old veteran Father Julián and his new younger Belgian colleague, Father Nicolás, and the social worker Luciana, work in a

villa miseria A ''villa miseria'' (), or just ''villa'', is the informal term for a type of shanty town slum found in Argentina, mostly around the largest urban settlements. Name The term is a noun phrase made up of the Spanish words ''villa'' (''village'', '' ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

known as Ciudad Oculta. Together they fight to resolve the issues of the neighborhood's society. Their work will have them face the clerical hierarchy, the organized crime and the repression, risking their lives defending their commitment and loyalty towards the people of the neighbourhood. The film's title comes from the gigantic abandoned hospital that dominates the area, described by Peter Bradshaw in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as, "a deserted wreck and cathedral of poverty known as the 'white elephant' where the homeless camp and drug-dealers ply their trade."The Guardian, 25 April 2013: ''White Elephant – review''
Linked 13 January 2014

Cast

Ricardo Darín Ricardo Alberto Darín (born 16 January 1957) is an Argentine actor, film director and film producer, he is considered one of the best and most prolific actors of Argentine cinema. Considered one of the greatest and most acclaimed movie stars ...

as Julián *

Jérémie Renier (; born 6 January 1981) is a Belgian actor. His film debut was in the critically praised (1996), directed by the Dardenne brothers. He became better known to worldwide audiences in ''Brotherhood of the Wolf'' (2001) and (2005). The latter ...

as Nicolas *

Martina Gusman Martina may refer to: People * Martina (given name), a female form of Martin, including a list of people with the given name Martina * Martina (surname), a surname found in Italy and Curaçao * Martina (empress), the second Empress consort of t ...

as Luciana

Release

After its premiere at the

on 21 May 2012, the film went on general release in Argentina three days later. It saw a very limited release (just 1 screen) in the United States on 29 March 2013, and a more general release in the United Kingdom on 26 April 2013. The views of the British critics were mixed. Peter Bradshaw in ''

'' found it "a flawed drama, but one with emotional power", while Philip French in the sister paper ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' found it to be a "hard-hitting tale of Catholic priests working in the slums of Argentina

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

thrills from start to finish", and Geoffrey Macnab in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' found it uneven: "The problem is the melodramatic and solemn screenplay. The action sequences have an energy reminiscent of '' City of God'' but the scenes in which the priests deal with housing problems or struggle with ill health or the temptations of the flesh soon begin to drag." Tim Robey in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' was more enthusiastic, calling it a "potent drama about the lawless slums of Buenos Aires – it feels like '' The Mission'' with all exoticism firmly excised."The Daily Telegraph, 25 April 2013: ''White Elephant, review''
Linked 13 January 2014

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White Elephant 2012 films 2012 drama films 2012 independent films Argentine drama films Films about Catholic priests Films directed by Pablo Trapero French drama films 2010s French-language films Spanish drama films 2010s Spanish-language films Films shot in Buenos Aires Argentine independent films French independent films Spanish independent films Squatting in film Films distributed by Disney 2010s French films 2010s Argentine films