![]() ![]() Each strand of gray and white fur, his two pointed ears and his eyes capture the essence of this character. The camera finds itself affixed to the disheveled textures of EO’s anatomy. With this in mind, Skolimowski treats his four-legged protagonist with a heightened spiritual intimacy and respect. An unremarkable workhorse that has followed humanity through centuries of traumatic hardship, the donkey has always been a companion and observer of man. He was transfixed by the idea that this motionless creature was an “observer from another world” and his eyes reflected a “mysterious comment on the scene around him.” The donkey is the stand-in for the audience in this film, yet the narrative is just as much about the treatment of animals as it is about the behavior of humans.Īlthough often seen as dull, the donkey is a cultural symbol that has taken us everywhere from Jerusalem to the Hundred Acre Woods. Amid all the animals used in this Sicilian festival, the static donkey caught the director’s attention. Skolimowski was inspired to let a donkey helm his latest film after seeing one used in a Christmas nativity scene. The donkey faces a journey of unexpected fortunes and immeasurable cruelty he innocently observes the world through his many owners. ![]() In the heat of animal rights protests and a reactionary government shutdown of a Polish circus, EO finds himself ripped away from his caretaker and thrown into the fray of contemporary European society. The lead donkey, known as EO, is originally part of a circus act with his affectionate owner Kasandra (Sandra Dryzmalska). In turn, the film delivers a gut-wrenching reflection on the state of modern humanity. From abusive circus acts to intoxicated football hooligans, the donkey experiences countless trials and tribulations. “EO” subverts traditional cinematic conventions by filtering its entire runtime through the perspective of an animal. In America, the film was picked up by Janus Films, which successfully campaigned Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” to win Best International Feature last year. The film won the Cannes Jury Prize, and is now Poland’s official nomination for the Academy Awards. In acclaimed Polish filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski’s latest film “EO,” a wandering donkey moves from one place to the next as the viewer bears witness to some of the darker elements of human nature.
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