Directed by: Jerzy Skolimowski
Written by: Jerzy Skolimowski & Ewa Piaskowska
Starring: Sandra Drzymalska, Lorenzo Zurzolo, Mateusz Kościukiewicz, Isabelle Huppert
Rating: [3/5]
Often the best way to view the actions of humans in an objective manner is through the eyes of animals. Creatures who have no stake to anything other than surviving and do not operate with the same prejudices we do. The way we treat said animals also serves as a reflection of us as well. All of this and more EO seeks to capture as we follow a donkey and see the very best and worst of humanity in such an effective manner.
Owned by a circus and performing alongside a young woman, EO gets his life altered when he’s shipped away at the behest of animal rights activists. He then ends up in various locations where people adopt, take care, and harm him depending on their whims and what use they view him as.
A film following the life of a real donkey very much has the makings of something only cinephiles would have the patience to sit through. It’s hilarious to think about describing this plot to the average person and gauge how many of them would actually find interest in a story with no real plot and just exhibits this donkey’s adventures. With that said, missing out on what EO as a film wants to say would be a mistake, as the mirror holds up to society and the way we treat not only animals but also each other.
It’s hard when watching this film not to draw the parallels to Au Hasard Balthazar, another film that also follows a donkey and the ills of humanity through the way they treat it. EO can be seen as a spiritual sequel where it’s made through the way humans act today, both against and in favor of the animal. This all starts at the circus, where we see the way of life EO has in performance, but he’s under the care of a performer who cares deeply for him. However, from the outside, him being in a circus does give the impression of abuse. This is what leads to him being shipped away on animal rights grounds. After seeing everything that happens throughout the film, it would not be crazy to argue that perhaps the donkey would have fared better by staying in the circus.
Through his journey in various locations, EO experiences the full gamut of what animals experience in society. He’s viewed as a laborer when on a farm, a mascot that can be cheered for and abused depending on the results of a sporting match, and the harshest truth that awaits any animal of potentially becoming food. Each instance brings a brutality that’s completely unfair to an animal simply trying to survive and go about its way. This creature did not ask for any of this, but it was navigating the role it’s assigned by individuals, who in some circumstances just find him and assign a specific value to him.
This leads me back to the initial assertion about the average person having any interest in watching this film. For as uninteresting as it sounds to watch a film following a donkey on the surface, the filmmaking on display by Jerzy Skolimowski is anything but. The level of stress created in this narrative through the fear we inevitably feel for the sake of this donkey makes it quite the watch by itself. Before getting into the deeper themes of the story, this film delivers on that front alone. Skolimowski succeeds in adding a dynamism in the way he shoots what transpires with the donkey. Adding in visual flourishes in the attempt to depict the feelings of this donkey without animating it serves as quite the exercise in creativity that benefits the film and adds even more to the message it seeks to display.
Equally tough to watch as it is beautiful, EO promises simplicity in its storytelling and delivers as we follow this poor little donkey through of all of this mayhem he never sought. It’ll make you want to hug your pets a little closer and examine the way we treat animals and the true perpetrators that bring them harm. The donkey at the center of this movie is adorable and does everything properly in being a donkey and the star of the show.
