X
  • 2015
  • TV-14
  • Wilder Films
  • 1 h 29 m
  • 2015
  • TV-14
  • Wilder Films
  • 1 h 29 m
Approaching the Elephant

Summary Year one for Lucy, Jiovanni and director Alexander at the Teddy McArdle Free School in Little Falls, New Jersey, where classes are voluntary and rules are created by democratic vote. Wilder is there from the beginning, observing an indelible cast of outspoken young personalities as they form relationships, explore their surroundings and ...

Directed By: Amanda Wilder

  • 2015
  • TV-14
  • Wilder Films
  • 1 h 29 m
  • 2015
  • TV-14
  • Wilder Films
  • 1 h 29 m

Approaching the Elephant

Metascore Universal Acclaim Based on 7 Critic Reviews
82
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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My Score
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Summary Year one for Lucy, Jiovanni and director Alexander at the Teddy McArdle Free School in Little Falls, New Jersey, where classes are voluntary and rules are created by democratic vote. Wilder is there from the beginning, observing an indelible cast of outspoken young personalities as they form relationships, explore their surroundings and ...

Directed By: Amanda Wilder

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 7 Critic Reviews
82
100% Positive
7 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 7 Critic Reviews
82
100% Positive
7 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
91
Feb 18, 2015
The footage, edited by Actress director Robert Greene, coheres into what feels like one long, chaotic school day. You can practically feel the pulse of grown-up veins, the fraying of last nerves.
By A.A. Dowd FULL REVIEW
90
Feb 17, 2015
The faults and merits of the free-school movement are elucidated with a steely, journalistic rigor. More surprising is that this candid glimpse plays as exhilarating drama.
By Calum Marsh FULL REVIEW
88
Feb 25, 2015
The movie is significant as a movie: it's intelligent, sensitive and expertly made. But it's also significant because of its ability to provoke introspection and arguments. In its deceptively modest way, it's as much a Rorschach test as "American Sniper." Everybody who sees it will draw a different picture of the elephant.
By Matt Zoller Seitz FULL REVIEW
88
Feb 17, 2015
The film's 90 minutes are a disorienting cyclone of destructive incidents and propulsive energy.
FULL REVIEW
80
Feb 17, 2015
Much of the observational brilliance of Approaching The Elephant comes from how closely form relates to content: Out of chaos comes order, both at Teddy McArdle and in the film, which brings the personalities and conflicts into sharper focus as it goes along.
By Scott Tobias FULL REVIEW
70
Feb 19, 2015
Ms. Wilder, in her debut feature, riskily opts to leave much of the children’s educational activity fairly vague. Which gives it one more thing in common with school: You need to pay attention.
By Nicolas Rapold FULL REVIEW
70
Feb 17, 2015
Amanda Rose Wilder’s nuanced and passionate documentary, about the first year of a “free” elementary school in New Jersey, reveals the glories and the limitations of unstructured classrooms and observational filmmaking alike.
By Richard Brody FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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Details

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Production Company Wilder Films
Release Date Feb 20, 2015
Duration 1 h 29 m
Rating TV-14
Genres
Website https://www.facebook.com/approachingtheelephant
View All Details

Awards

Gotham Awards
• 2 Nominations
Indiewire Critics' Poll
• 2 Nominations
Camden International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

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