A dying elephant makes it's way to the CEMETERY (2019 - France/UK - Surrealistic/Drama) pursued by poachers

 

A mahout and the elephant he tends to, Nga, make their way to the majestic creature's final resting place, while being pursued by a group of poachers. There has been a major natural disaster, a 9.7 earthquake, that has devastated the land, and in the unrevealed future date CEMETERY takes place in, we get the sense the world outside the jungle has fallen apart. Nga could well be the last of his kind, and when he goes to his final resting place, that will be the end.

With almost no dialog, and a heavy surrealist vibe, CEMETERY reminds one heavily of the more esoteric work of Terrance Malik. Slow, somnambulist, poetic. Not for everyone, and it definitely requires the viewer to slow down and relax into the films sleepwalker pace, but rewards with some truly beautiful imagery. The final act is cloaked in almost complete darkness, which I won't lie, kind of frustrated me, but also was in line with the overt symbolism director Carlos Casas was so clearly going for. The sound design, an ambient, rolling soundtrack that is as poetic as the imagery it accompanies, sweeps the viewer along, and adds exponentially to the dream-like state of the experience.

- 6.5/10