When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford. –IMDb
Francis Lawrence (born March 26, 1970 in Vienna) is an American music video, film, and television director and producer.
Lawrence was born in Vienna, Austria. His father is a physicist who taught at California State University, Northridge and his mother is V.P. Technology at a PR agency. He moved to Los Angeles at the age of three. Lawrence worked as 2nd assistant camera on the feature Pump Up the Volume directed by Allan Moyle prior to earning his bachelors degree in film production at Loyola Marymount University Film School. He went on to work as first AD on the feature Marching out of Time directed by Anton Vassil in 1993. Francis Lawrence then joined ex-classmate Mike Rosen in co-directing music videos. Lawrence shot his first music video for Michael Blakey President of Atco Records with the band Tidal Force which became a great success. Soon, Lawrence became known for his original and imaginative music video scripts and visual directing style.
He eventually joined… read more
A great performance by Christopher Waltz. Terse was good to. Bad CG. Wouldn't watch by choice again.
I like the scenery and the way this flick looked. Story was okay. Better than I expected.
A very good old fashioned movie which can still appeal to modern sensibilities. I saw this right after seeing "Thor" in murky digital 3-D and was immediately absorbed by the crisp, beautiful cinematography presented in a big screen 35mm film presentation. The score has a classic film score majesty to it as well.
Fellini said movies are like a circus. Water for Elephants didn't feel like a circus, but a unfocused dog movie. Christoph Waltz was the true star attraction.
"Denis Villeneuve's Incendies — an operatic saga of intergenerational woe — is the cinematic equivalent of a Harlem Globetrotters
After his parents’ death, Jacob Jankoski is left penniless and homeless. Events lead him to joining the circus as their vet, working under their unstable boss August whose violent tendencies give everyone… read review
There is always a calm before the storm, and in this instance, the storm is the upcoming multitude of loud, 3-D, special effects filled summer blockbusters. The calm is a sweet and surprisingly entertaining… read review