EO

EO is a thrillingly surreal odyssey that shows the best and worst of mankind in unpredictable fashion whilst always emphasising the beauty of nature. There's so many genuine moments of warmth which only make the darker moments all the more devastating. It's such a unique experience.

The several Donkeys that play EO give a phenomenal performance. The amount of emotion in their eyes is unrivalled and the cries of anguish are equally powerful. EO is supported by some great performances from Sandra Dryzmalska, Isabelle Hupert and Lorenzo Zurzolo in particular.

Jerzy Skolimowski crafts a real technical marvel. Along with Michal Dymek's varied cinematography it swaps between some top tier drone shots, a gorgeous use of colour (especially red) and plenty of Donkey's-eye view shots. Pawel Mykietyn's score adds further beauty to the gorgeous imagery.

Eo is the tale of a small donkey of the same name who we initially see as a circus performer very lovingly cared for by his young female trainer Kasandra. The authorities come and remove all of the circus animals and what follows is Eo's odyssey. He encounters all kinds of people (good and evil), animals, conditions, perils and experiences a breadth of adventures far greater than he would have had he remained in the circus. We of course experience these adventures with him. Visually Eo is beautiful and interesting. I add interesting because the images do seem to contain in all of them an element of narrative to them. This is important as Eo cannot speak and the film is minimal in dialogue. It is through imagery and an assertive score that much of the story is told. Watching a film like this brings me an almost omnipresent low level of anxiety with it though, which is an underlying concern that something very bad might happen to this harmless, innocent and gentle beast at any moment. While he does witness such things along the way, for the most part he is not a victim of but an observer of such things. I found the many different people Eo meets along the way interesting, like characters in a road movie. For me they worked. And for me Eo as a whole worked as well. Films of this type, regardless of how well they are done, seldom seem to appeal to the bulk of viewers out there (please note-this is not a Disney type film where the animals talk). For anyone else who is curious I recommend checking out Eo, ideally at the theater/cinema to fully appreciate.

If you are looking for a story in a movie this is probably not for you. This one is a piece of art though. Have you ever wondered what would a donkey do if you let it loose? This movie tries to answer that very question. You follow EO (pronounce it so that it sounds like a donkey), taken from a Polish circus because of bankruptcy, he gets away multiple times and ends up in Italy. He falls on the worst of the human race as well as good people. Any short story that starts during his journey never gets a resolution because he just leaves for other things. It is a bit frustrating at times, but you are here to follow EO, no-one else. The imagery is beautiful, and the music on top is just awesome. An underrated movie that you should see if you love art more than cinema.

Breathtaking film. It's so refreshing to see a film like this in 2022. It feels like stuff like this was only produced in the 70's. It never could have happened in modern America. Not a chance. Poland gets big points for this one. Director Jerzy Skolimowski is a bit of a mad man (The Shout is one of the strangest movies I have ever seen).

Eo is a visual feast. Beautiful cinematography that generally stays in the realm of reality but also offers fits of surrealist wonder. The music score is beautifully tragic and tremendous. The sound editing is colossal. And, the legend Isabelle Huppert looks even better now than she did 21 years ago in The Piano Teacher.

You'll barely notice the lack of dialogue because you will be so immersed in Eo's story. It often feels meditative, which is extra intriguing and impressive considering that most of the time Eo is...not in a good place. It makes you wonder...is this what it actually feels like to be a farm animal? Sad but strangely sedated, unfittingly content?

Though Eo never moved me to tears, it is a very sentimental movie. The comedy is minimal but the moments it does have are very memorable. Whenever a human comes around, you can be sure something imbecilic or terrible is going to happen! Towards the end, it almost started reminded me of something like The Painted Bird, just focused on a donkey rather than a young boy, but it never gets even close to as hardcore as that story.

And then, finally, there's the most blatant accomplishment - they actually managed to make a highly entertaining movie about the life of a donkey in 2022. How did they even do it?! Where did they find the inspiration?! Amazing. I definitely recommend this! A highly respectable feat!

IO stayed with me for days. This film is experienced and digested in the flesh. There are not many words in it so it is impossible to distance yourself from it by intellectualizing it. The places where animals live; the situations that happen to them - nothing we didn't know about - but shown from a different perspective - perspective of a donkey, a creature that is dependent on humans: it's owners (caretakers?) and the laws regarding animals.

I was touched and moved by something I had hitherto passed by indifferently: the fate of animals that are not given names. This film was difficult for me and appealed to me at the same time.

And last but not least I'm always very happy to see Isabelle Huppert on the screen.