Film Review — EO

Skolimowski’s wandering road movie sees the world through different eyes.

A grey donkey roams the country after being freed from a Polish circus, experiencing the highs and lows of life through his unique perspective.

★★★☆☆

Jerzy Skolimowski doesn’t make many movies, but when the multi-talented artist and filmmaker does, they’re usually worth a watch. With EO — IO in his native Poland — Skolimowski explores familiar themes of life, death and everything in between, this time through very different eyes.

Life rarely goes according to plan for most humans, let alone the billions of animals we share the planet with. Through the eyes of the titular donkey, Skolimowski starkly captures the complexities of existence. A patchwork of moments, small victories snatched from the jaws of defeat, and vice-versa as the film’s predictably bleak ending depressingly reminds us.

Popular on this year’s awards circuit — it was a joint winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes and was Poland’s entry at this year’s Academy Awards — EO is, at times, a beautiful watch, despite Skolimowski’s experimentation, which interferes with and ultimately weakens the film’s brutal and heartbreaking truths.

Like its main character, EO wanders off the tracks a little too often, but it’s a visually striking experience. A difficult but important film for animal lovers and a potentially powerful new rallying cry for their protectors.

Originally published at michaelkenny.uk