EO

Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski (Poland and Italy, 2022, 86 min.). Polish, Italian, English, French, and Spanish with English subtitles.

With his first film in seven years, legendary director Jerzy Skolimowski (Deep End, Moonlighting) directs one of his most free and visually inventive films yet, following the travels of a nomadic gray donkey named EO. After being removed from the traveling circus, the only life he’s ever known, EO begins a trek across the Polish and Italian countrysides, experiencing cruelty and kindness in equal measure and observing the follies and triumphs of humankind. During his travels, EO is both helped and hindered by a cast of characters including a young Italian priest (Lorenzo Zurzolo), a Countess (Isabelle Huppert), and a rowdy Polish soccer team. Loosely inspired by Robert Bresson’s Au Hasard Balthazar (1966), and featuring immersive, stunning cinematography by Michal Dymek coupled with Pawel Mykietyn’s resonant score, Skolimowski’s film puts the viewer in the perspective of its four-legged protagonist. EO’s journey speaks to the world around us: an equine hero boldly pointing out societal ills and serving as warning to the dangers of neglect and inaction, all while on a quest for freedom.

This film is not suitable for young children.

“A shocking and tender tour de force about life, love, death. . . . A wild, boldly expressionistic movie that conveys the life of its largely silent protagonist with a bare minimum of dialogue.” —New York Times

Watch the trailer.