OSCARS 2023: EO (2022)

I'll admit to not being especially familiar with the Polish New Wave cinema. However, I've definitely seen the name Jerzy Skolimowski before. I've seen his dreamy, unnerving 1973 horror film “The Shout.” His most acclaimed film, surreal dramedy “Deep End,” has been on my watch list literally for years. While most of the figures from that era of filmmaking have passed on, Skolimowski is still alive and still making movies. In fact, his seventeenth feature, “EO,” has become maybe the most critically acclaimed work of his life. People whose opinions I trust listed it as one of their favorites of last year. Now, the Academy has nominated it for Best International Film. 

Inspired by Robert Bresson's “Au Hazard Balthazar” – which I've also never seen – the film follows a donkey performing in a circus named Eo. When animal performances in circus are outlawed, Eo is shipped off to a farm of some sort. The woman who would perform with the donkey in the circus, and is fond of him, frees Eo from the farm. The donkey begins wandering across Poland, walking through urban and rural areas. He encounters violent soccer hooligans, animal rescue workers, a wind power turbine, a trucker shipping horses, and many other people. Eo doesn't know it but he is on a journey towards a final destination. 

For years now, I've been fascinated with the idea of how animals perceive the world, compared to how humans see it. I've always wanted to see a movie told from the perspective of an animal, really attempting to replicate the thoughts and experiences of something other than a human being. “EO” comes pretty close to what I've envisioned with such a project. More than anything else, “EO” shows us how animals – untethered from humanity – experiences both the best and the worst people have to offer. After being ceremoniously adopted as a mascot by a soccer club, Eo is attacked by fans of a rival team. The poor beaten creature, after being patched up, arrives in a terrifying holding station for wild animals. As much as this shows the cruelty people senselessly inflict on animals, Eo also experiences kindness from strangers. He's rescued from the side of the road by a friendly fellow. He receives head pats and carrots from random folks. Animals bring out the best and the worst of us, because humans don't believe animals can react to actions the same way people do.

For this same reason, animals have no class status. A donkey might be a working animal, accustomed to pulling carts on a farm, as Eo does for a period. Yet the way the beast of burden wanders from location to location, he becomes a silent observer of all different types of social strata. The donkey sees a truck driver, crudely attempting to talk a woman into having sex with him, before he gets his throat slashed by a bandit. This is the most blue collar of existence, not unlike what a farm animal might experience. Yet Eo also finds himself on the front yard of an opulent mansion at one point, witnessing some petty drama between a man and a woman. (A surprise cameo appearance from Isabelle Huppert.) I suspect some commentary on Polish society, that goes over my dumb-ass American head, might be evident here. However, some things are the same everywhere. This donkey watches it all go by with the same quizzical continence. 

“EO” further sells its unique perspective with a kaleidoscopic visual style. Skolimowski and cinematographer Michal Dymek create a number of stunning, surreal sequences that take the viewer on a wild trip. The very scene has Eo and his friend performing their circus act under strobbing lights. A night in the woods, climaxing in a bird killed by that wind turbine, is a nightmarish trip through a red-tinted, cinematic Hell. There's another moment devoted to one of those dog-like police robots walking and running through the streets, a machine trying to be an animal. Swirling, fish-eye lens are used in other scenes while aerial drone shots add a heavenly perspective to others. 

Eo was played by six different donkeys, all of whom are adorable. The movie gets a surprising amount of pathos just out of their dark, soulful eyes and fuzzy muzzles. “EO” is a loosely plotted film but, because the donkey proves so cinematic and compelling, you don't mind going on this journey with the guy. I have no doubt “EO” will be studied and picked apart by cinephiles and film students for years to come. It's the kind of movie that invites personal readings, with various political or social subtexts just under the surface. I found it to be a fascinating experience. I really need to see more of Skolimowski's work. [8/10]