Inspired by, and heavily borrowing from, the events and circumstances of the Columbine High School shootings, Elephant follows the fictional story of a similar high school massacre. I say follows rather than tells because Elephant doesn't dramatise the massacre in any way, nor does it try to conjure simple answers as to the motivation behind the killings. Elephant takes us on a journey, following students in a very matter of fact way on a slow, otherwise uneventful, school day. We follow students and teachers until we're hypnotised into feeling like we're part of the school ourselves. Only when we are mesmerised enough to feel the impact of every bullet do the gunmen enter the building.

Elephant is a very different film experience. It focuses on the victims, rather than the acts of violence, to create an amazing level of tension. Its original, and stunningly effective, presentation, direction and cinematography are more than enough to justify the Palme D'Or it won in 2003. I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to the victims of Columbine.