Elefantes Sobre Una Telaraña (English: Elephants Over A Spider Web) begins with a man’s birthday. He’s just about to blow out his candles, when his little daughter asks whether she can blow them out for him. After doing so, she runs off to get her dad’s present, a letter she wrote for him for being the best daddy in the world. There seems to be something amiss, though. Why does he look at her that way? Is there something going on that we don’t see?
This film seems very innocent, but there’s something about the subtle gestures and specially chosen words that gives me the chills as I watch this. Of course, the little girl looks at everything as fun and games, but I suppose there’s something about that innocence that just attracts the darkest parts of our own human souls. All in all, in beautiful cinematography and fun playtimes, Elefantes Sobre Una Telaraña shows through a child’s innocent eyes a certain kind of love not condoned by our current society.
I find it interesting how the child looks to her father as her best friend, when other people will see his actions as sexually abusive or horrible. It’s a rather human look into a delicate affair that a lot of people, young and old, may still have emotional scars from. What about you? What do you think of the relationship between father and daughter?
(Elefantes Sobre Una Telaraña is available with and without English subtitles on YouTube. Click here for a film that uses horrific images to talk about domestic violence. Click here for a story about a man possessed by an evil spirit, and his young daughter who tries to help him.)
Elefantes Sobre Una Telaraña, on YouTube (no subtitles)
Elefantes Sobre Una Telaraña, on YouTube (English subtitles)
Directed by Jorge Lareau
