The Green Elephant

The Green Elephant (, also known as Green Elephant Calf) is a 1999 Russian psychedelic exploitation horror film directed by Svetlana Baskova. The movie received a limited theatrical release in Russia, as the film's violent imagery and graphic language made it unfit for being distributed through the mainstream film circuit. The film was shown at the 2005 International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the program commented that the movie was "even more urgent because of the escalation of the war in Chechnya and growing criminality in the Russian army". The film stars Sergey Pakhomov and Vladimir Epifantsev, and follows two Russian officers locked in a military prison cell that must deal with "social and psychological problems" in their isolation through brutality and torture. Plot Although the exact date is never mentioned in the movie itself, it is implied that the story takes place in 1986. Two unnamed junior officers in the Soviet Army, played by Epifantsev and Pakhomov (nicknamed "Bratishka" ("Bro") and "Poekhavshiy" ("Nutcase") respectively by some fans of the film), arrive to a penal military prison. Their shared cell is a tiny, scarcely lit room with a leaking sewer pipe running through it. The walls are painted a toxic green colour. Pakhomov is extremely talkative and seemingly delirious, possibly from excessive alcohol consumption, although also friendly and good-natured. Epifantsev is initially amused by his stories and behaviour, but then starts to become progressively more and more annoyed by him, until finally lashing out and beating him up. Epifantsev is then taken away by the guard (Maslaev) to clean the toilet as a punishment. Later, when the exhausted Epifantsev is brought back to the cell and has fallen asleep, Pakhomov defecates on their shared plate, smears himself in feces, and consumes some of it. He then wakes Epifantsev up, and offers him the plate, which disgusts and aggravates him again. While Epifantsev is yelling death threats at him, Pakhomov says that he got them something to eat because he feared that they will not be fed there. Maslaev comes to the shouting, and takes Epifantsev to clean the toilet once more, while seemingly completely ignoring Pakhomov. The captain (Osmolovsky) arrives to the cell, and teaches the suddenly quiet Pakhomov about the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, particularly the names and quantities of Japanese and American ships on Pearl Harbor.