film
EO
directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, Poland 2022, 86'
- This visionary film by veteran European filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski was one of the sensations of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it deservedly won the Jury Prize. The author of Barrier, The Shout and Essential Killing refers to Robert Bresson’s legendary film Au Hasard Balthazar by making a donkey the protagonist. We watch the epic journey of the eponymous EO, who finds himself in the care of different people: wise and foolish, good and brutal, empathetic and vain. Skolimowski creates a simple, yet visually stunning universal parable about the condition of modern society and the imbalance between the human and animal worlds. It is also a wonderfully poetic film about incapacitation and the need for freedom. The Polish master is not afraid to experiment: Michal Dymek’s camera performs incredible acrobatics, achieving a mesmerising and fresh work as a result, as if made by a youngster in awe of the possibilities of contemporary cinema. This is pure Skolimowski: forever New Wave, curious, full of bravado and confidence.
