Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

White Elephant

Play trailer Poster for White Elephant 2012 1h 50m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
95% Tomatometer 21 Reviews 56% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Julian and Nicolas work tirelessly to help people in a shantytown outside Buenos Aires. After a project is ruined, Nicolas joins Julian in the jungle and finds comfort in Luciana, an attractive social worker.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

White Elephant

White Elephant

What to Know

Critics Consensus

White Elephant thoughtfully delivers an old-fashioned social drama inspired by true events with technical mastery.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (21) Critics Reviews
Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard The drama is intense but fractured as Trapero shows how millions of poverty-stricken people live in his home country, and how a few brave people attempt to do something about it. Rated: 4/5 Apr 26, 2013 Full Review Tim Robey Daily Telegraph (UK) [A] potent drama about the lawless slums of Buenos Aires - it feels like The Mission with all exoticism firmly excised. Rated: 4/5 Apr 25, 2013 Full Review Antonia Quirke Financial Times The film tries to do too much and its power is on a sliding scale downward, but at times it is ultra-vivid. Rated: 3/5 Apr 25, 2013 Full Review Diego Batlle Otroscines.com It is clear Trapero went for the urgent, the instinctual, the power of the image. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 4/5 Aug 18, 2023 Full Review Juan Pablo Russo EscribiendoCine White Elephant is a great movie that follows the ideology of a director that, without becoming a sellout, makes movies within the margins of accessibility. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 9/10 Jul 31, 2023 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com The film embraces the idiom it invokes, becoming a burdensome film whose cost, time, and effort consuming it is definitely out of proportion to what the end result can deliver. Aug 5, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (36) audience reviews
Daniel G One of several movies by Pablo Trapero that I've been eager to watch. Impactful almost documentary-like movie which is a social commentary, but even more an engaging film about people who've chosen a challenging life in what seems (and is described by them) as an eternal and complex problem situation from which there seems to be little escape: poverty and violence in Latin America. If it had only a bit more focused, this would have been perfect, but when so many cast members seem more like extras and who appear only briefly, not delving deeper into their motivations, it's a bit frustrating. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/30/24 Full Review Audience Member Heftige en indrukwekkende film over twee priesters in krottenwijk van Buenos Aires. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Well-produced; dramatic and realistic. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member good drama i dont think doc though Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review walter m After barely surviving a village massacre, Father Nicolas(Jeremie Renier) returns to the city slums to rejoin Father Julian(Ricardo Darin) in his continuing work that goes beyond just their ecclesiastical duties. So, while the residents work on constructing their own housing, the priests get to handle the bureaucracy, aided by Luciana(Martina Gusman). Proving once and for all that nothing can compare to location work, "White Elephant" seeks to tell a moving story about martyrdom in South America, while honoring a real life martyr at the same time. Even with some exquisite tracking shots, the fact that the movie is not as successful as it could have been is down primarily to its being more focused on Nicolas than on Julian, the more interesting of the two priests. Plus, while Jeremie Renier is certainly not chopped liver, compared to the great Ricardo Darin, one is free to choose whatever lunch meat metaphor wants. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Genial película de Pablo Trapero con la actuación de Ricardo Darín. Se trata de un grandìsimo hospital abandonado, convertido en un refugio de marginales. Un cura tratarà de salvar de la droga y el crimen a la gente, pero se enfrenta con una sociedad decadente, injusta, corrupta y peligrosa. Film bastante duro Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews
White Elephant

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

For the Love of Money 0% 50% For the Love of Money Watchlist The Drop 88% 76% The Drop Watchlist Inspector Bellamy 88% 37% Inspector Bellamy Watchlist Dirty Money 82% 69% Dirty Money Watchlist The Stoker 100% 67% The Stoker Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Julian and Nicolas work tirelessly to help people in a shantytown outside Buenos Aires. After a project is ruined, Nicolas joins Julian in the jungle and finds comfort in Luciana, an attractive social worker.
Director
Pablo Trapero
Producer
Juan Gordon, Pablo Trapero, Pablo Rossi
Screenwriter
Alejandro Fadel, Martín Mauregui, Santiago Mitre, Pablo Trapero
Production Co
arte France Cinéma, Maneki Films, Morena Films S.L., Patagonik Film Group, Matanza Cine, Borsalino Productions
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
European Spanish
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 29, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$8.9K
Runtime
1h 50m
Most Popular at Home Now