Eo
2022’s Eo directed by Jerzy Skolimowski follows a donkey named ‘Eo’ as he journeys through life after being set free from a Polish circus. A story (or lack thereof) primarily following a Donkey manages to reel audiences in with its exceptional cinematography and its alluring score. Despite its lack of conflict, Eo has moments of intensity, emotion and tenderness.
Eo begins during a circus show, the story introduces one of the very limited human characters, Kasandra (played by Sandra Drzymalska) who has a special bond with Eo. The opening scene is one that sets high visual expectations. Tones of red fill the screen and clash with shadows of black to form magnetic shots that grandiosely evoke the thrill of attending the circus. Orchestral strings are played and plucked as the camera glides by Kasandra and Eo. Just as quickly as the circus is introduced and established as Eo’s home, it is taken away. As animal activists protest the circus and its use of animals, a law is passed that forces Eo to be transported to another owner. From here on, Eo travels from home to home where everything is mostly left up to chance. Just like life, his experience is decided by a roll of dice where some scenarios. Kasandra drunkenly visits Eo after their separation and brings him a cupcake with the wish for Eo to have the best life he can have. As she leaves Eo once again for the last time, one of the fences gates is left open and Eo is left to embark in a pursuit for Kasandra. The reality of life hits, there is no magical bond that reunites the two. Throughout the movie I kept thinking that maybe Eo and Kasandra would be reunited. Despite her short-lived presence, Kasandra is a central figure in the movie through Eo’s memories. But that is what grounds the movie because at the end of the day, Eo is just a donkey. The world is a big place and the chances of find one another are slim. Eo’s fate is left entirely in the hands of other humans both good and bad.
The score really is something that elevates the movies. Although visually pleasing, the lack of humans leaves a hole in dialogue. The music helps fill in that void. Shortly after Kasandra visits Eo, he escapes into the forest. The forest is eerie and unsettling, and the camerawork makes sure to emphasize that. Just like the woods in Gordon Green’s 2018 remake of Halloween, they embody a sense of dread that is perfectly matched with the music. Eo is a fish out of water and the dangers of the wild are imminent as the music plays heavy ominous synths and hallow trumpets. The camera jumps to various critters from predatory foxes and wolves to more passive spiders and owls. Green lasers light the room as the music gets more experimental and electronic. Hunters are present and the audience is reminded of humanity’s role as the occasional ‘apex predator’. The scene ends with Eo looking down on a dying wolf that has been shot by the aforementioned hunters as it takes its final breaths.
The chance of time and place is very critical in the movie. After escaping the forest, Eo makes his way to a nearby town. He is caught by local authorities but set free by a man who proclaims his enjoyment for anarchy. Eo is then a spectator at a soccer game where he brays during a penalty shot that may have resulted in the loss of the team. The winning team celebrates with Eo and brings him to a bar. Despite their gratitude to Eo, it isn’t genuine. The donkey was merely an unusual situation the people embraced but in reality, they don’t care about Eo in the same way Kasandra did. Despite their joyous win that may be because of Eo’s braying, when Eo exits the bar, no one seems to notice or care. Interestingly enough, the same man that freed Eo under the premise of ‘Anarchy rules!’ is part of the militia of bitter losers that felt it was their duty to attack and raid the bar. If that wasn’t satisfying enough, the group of losers decide that their loss was Eo’s fault and senselessly and brutally beat Eo nearly to death.
Eo as a character is an interesting take on an animal protagonist. Eo is very static. There isn’t a lot of life to the character. Simply because he is an animal with limited capabilities. Eo is a vessel to highlight various animal rights issues. The movie does an excellent job humanizing Eo not in a personified way but rather by embracing the limited humanity Eo has and embellishing some aspects of that humanity. The movie essentially portrays a neutral but positive depiction of an animal as complex as a donkey. From there, Eo is really a victim of circumstance and victim can also be neutral. Because in our real world, humans are in control, Eo has very limited freedom despite his new nomadic lifestyle. Ultimately, his fate is at the hands of people. Both good and bad. The movie does a good job highlighting that duality. There are some good people Eo encounters that truly bond and connect with him. There are even characters that appreciate and care for Eo during times of distress. But there are also people who only view Eo as an animal with monetary value or valuable for the work he may provide. There are even people who have no care for his life because he is an animal. That range of relationships between the people Eo encounters and Eo realistically portrays humans’ interactions with animals in the real world.
All in all, the movie is a stunning watch due to its unique camera shots and very exotic stylistic choices. It has some unconventional angles and shots of both landscapes and subjects that make the movie a wonder to watch. Despite its chance encounter kind of story, it isn’t anything too big to chew. Don’t expect leaving the theatre profoundly a new person. The movie had just enough subtext to spark some conversation without having to centralize those conversations in its plot. It is certainly a peculiar movie with enough embedded to make it digest easily.