NARRATIVE FEATURES - AMERICAN INDEPENDENT COMPETITION - SPONSORED BY

Saturday, March 24, 9:15 PM at Enzian - Purchase tickets
Tuesday, March 27, 6:30 PM at Regal - Purchase tickets

THE ELEPHANT KING
USA/THAILAND, 2006, 92 MIN
DIRECTED BY SETH GROSSMAN
In English and Thai w/ English subtitles
Southeast Premiere

Jake (Jonno Robert) is a rakish American expatriate, an anthropologist who has fled his university obligations, family, debt, and the law to take up residence in Thailand. Oliver (Tate Ellington), Jake's fragile and introspective younger brother, follows upon the insistence of their domineering mother (Ellen Burstyn), and is charged with bringing Jake back to the States. Like the pet elephant they delight in but neglect, Oliver's romance with Jake's Amerasian friend, Lek (Florence Faivre), leads him in equal measure to the pleasures of sexual freedom and the pain of heartache, while Jake's own path to binge and avoid responsibility leads him nowhere fast. This compelling, stylish, superbly acted, and well-scored drama transports audiences to the exotic evening world of Thailand's bars, brothels, and kick-boxing rings, all shot in eye-popping color and contrasting the day shots of Thai cityscapes, pastoral countryside, and everyday life. Director-writer Seth Grossman brandishes the arrogance and innocence of Americans and the seductive decadence of a cultural Other.