Gus Van Sant's Constant Thematic and Cinematic Elements
The differences in these films could not be more blatant, and yet Gus Van Sant has found a way to portray the same messages and use the same techniques in each.

Author J. R. R. Tolkien (Zinovij Gerdt) tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a quiet and enjoyable hobbit, whose life is turned upside down when he decides to join the wizard Gandalf and a company of thirteen dwarves in an attempt to regain a treasure stolen from the latter. Soviet television movie adaptation of "The Hobbit".
The differences in these films could not be more blatant, and yet Gus Van Sant has found a way to portray the same messages and use the same techniques in each.
If the message here is that without a support system, grieving people turn into monsters, it’s not really well-delivered and may be flawed as a message itself.
In the film adaptation, director Jon M. Chu turns each musical number into a massive show stopper, with grand set pieces and a wealth of diverse dancers. Yet, in this attempt to show reverence for the people of the Washington Heights barrio, Chu, or maybe more specifically those in charge of casting, left out a crucial part of the community, Afro-Latinos.
As legal dramas go, we rarely see an African-American actor in the lead role. "The Burial" has several.
You've heard the phrase “If looks could kill,” but have you heard “If dancing could kill?” Pretty Lethal takes that idea and runs with it.
"There is something going on between us that I cannot unravel."