The Elephant King 2006

      This film is based on the popular series of children’s books written by Jean de Brunhoff.  It is the story of two brothers who lead totally different lives.  Jake Hunt enjoys life to the fullest in Thailand while his shy brother Oliver deals with his own depressions back home in the USA.  Their dominant mother wants Jake to come back home.  Oliver is sent to Thailand to retrieve his brother.  Once there, Oliver finds himself involved in Jake's bizarre life and he falls in love with a beautiful girl.  Her name is Lek.  But, it is not a coincidence that Lek and Oliver have already met?

     Grossman's interesting narrative follows the relationship of the two brothers as they overcome alienation, begin to understand one another and struggle with conflicted desires.  This film is beautifully shot on location in Thailand and the setting is exotic to the film's main characters and it adds to the themes of self-exploration and alienation.  The acting, scene choices and writing all indicate  Grossman's genuine talent as a Writer/Director.  The strength of this film, Grossman's first feature length narrative, promises great things to come from this fresh and energetic new filmmaker.  The work he does after this film will be interesting to see!!

    This movie is a Canadian-German-French co-production.  Babar King of the Elephants is a terrific introduction to this classic pachyderm from the children's books.  The one cause for concern is a scene early in the film where Babar's mother is shot and killed by a rifle-toting poacher.  After this scene, the story teaches lessons through the examples of the characters on kindness, consideration, respect and apologizing for mistakes.  For parents who grew up with Babar books and kids experiencing Babar for the very first time, this movie is a positive experience to share.

92 min, Drama directed and written by Seth Grossman with Ellen Burstyn, Tate Ellington, Florence Faivre, Jonno Roberts, Josef Sommer, DebraAzar, Natalie Carter, Joef Cummings, Georgia Hatzis, Thanawut Ketsaro, Pawarith Monkolpisit, Michael Pand, Porntip Pananai.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 out of 10 with 487 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 18% with 11 critic reviews 64% with 250+ audience scores, Metacritic 46 out of 100 with 6 critic reviews, Common Sense Media Brian Costello, 4* out of 5* age 5+, 2* educational value, positive messages, violence & scariness, 4* positive role models, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 55 ratings.

Special Note:  The Thai title, "Ruedu hang rak" translates as "Season of Love".  Filmed in Chiang Mai Thailand, New York City, New York, Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York.