"Elephant" Gus Van Sant and Harris Savvides take on the challenge of realism and ultimate minimalism. What is the world-recognized “Death Trilogy”?

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Lately, I've been reminded once again that this work's minimalistic design, which has abolished meaning, was the right thing to do. In 2017, the mother of one of the perpetrators, then 17-year-old Dylan Klebold, published a memoir and appeared on the famous presentation show TED. The background of the incident that was discovered there was complex, and it was a difficult subject to depict as if everything was understood.

TED Talks"My son was the Columbine High School shooter. As a mother, this is what I want to say."

Further investigation revealed that Dylan had been suicidal for several years prior to the crime, and had attempted to paralyze himself by committing murder in order to overcome the fear of committing the crime. The mother did not realize that her son was in an abnormal mental state, combining suicidal thoughts and violent impulses. Unfortunately, he never consulted his family and miraculously met Eric Harris, who had a desire to kill, at the same school.

Many issues are involved in the process leading up to suicidal thoughts, including school caste, racial issues, and, of course, gun control issues. Her mother now dedicates her life to youth suicide prevention, and she urges: Even if someone seems okay at first glance, try to imagine that they might be having some kind of problem, and talk to them, even if it's just for a moment. I also want them to let go of the belief that their children are okay and that no one close to them is having problems.

This trilogy depicts the death of a young man, inspired by a real-life incident, but the director's intention was not to reproduce it in a documentary manner, but rather to experiment with it to express his own views on life and death. Death, which is sure to come someday, is an extension of everyday life, and does not have the kind of excessive meaning depicted in many movies.

If you face death even once, you will get the Arrival that living a normal life is not all that bad.

Text: Koji Eguchi

Video producer. We are active in a wide range of media, focusing on advertising.

He has won many domestic and international advertising awards, including Cannes, and contributes from the perspective of a producer who has various production experiences such as director Koji Fukada's ``The Man from the Sea'' (2018) and exhibiting VR at SXSW.

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