

An Elephant Sitting Still
In the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world. Manzhouli becomes an obsession for the protagonists of this film, a longed-for escape from the downward spiral in which they find themselves.
TMDB
7.7/10
245 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
View on IMDb
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $2.5M
- Box office
- —
- Language
- Mandarin
- cynical
- thoughtful
- philosophical
- complex
- harsh
Top billed cast









Behind the camera
Where to watch
Availability for United States. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
Gallery












Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- PremierePhiladelphia Film Festival24 Oct 2018
- Theatrical8 Mar 2019
United KingdomGB
- Theatrical1214 Dec 2018
FranceFR
- TheatricalU9 Jan 2019
- TVarte9 Nov 2022
GermanyDE
- PremiereBerlin International Film Festival16 Feb 2018
- TVarte9 Nov 2022
GreeceGR
- TheatricalΚ-1518 Apr 2019
Hong KongHK
- TheatricalIIB18 Jan 2019
JapanJP
- Digital / OTTG18 Nov 2018
NetherlandsNL
- Theatrical166 Jun 2019
South KoreaKR
- PremiereJeonju International Film Festival 5 May 2018
- Theatrical1221 Nov 2019
SpainES
- Theatrical3 May 2019
ThailandTH
- Theatrical1827 Jul 2019
Frequently asked questions
An Elephant Sitting Still was released on 14 December 2018.
Audience reviews
3- M9/10
Morgan Wong
1/5/2020
What a masterpiece!! The story reflects director Hu's own view on life / value / situation. Those main charters finally found their own dream elephant at the end of the story, so surprised and comfort. However, it's very sad to hear that this young and talent director committed suicide before the movie gets prizes in few months advanced. Hu's own dream elephant appears after his death. He should have just stood…
- C7/10
CinemaSerf
9/11/2025
I’ll admit to some trepidation when I sat down to watch almost four hours of what could have been a (very) still life about an elephant sitting still! Instead, it’s not really anything to do with an actual pachyderm but more a collection of stories involving four young citizens of Manzhouli. This isn’t a place where very much happens and the opportunities available to these folks aren’t really any more appealing than…
- A9/10
Alunauwie
9/18/2025
An Elephant Sitting Still is a deeply philosophical film by Hu Bo that explores profound despair through the interconnected lives of four troubled individuals seeking escape from their painful realities. Despite its nearly four-hour runtime and slow pacing, the film delivers a raw, emotional narrative with powerful performances and a haunting atmosphere, though the cinematography and ambiguous ending may leave some v…
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