SCREENING IN THE BERNARD OSHER FOUNDATION AUDITORIUM
#1 Film of 2022 - The New York Times
Academy Award Nominee for Best International Feature
Winner, Jury Prize, 2022 Cannes Film Festival
“No movie I’ve seen this year has moved me as deeply, made me feel as optimistic about cinema or engaged me with such intellectual vigor.”
88 minutes. Not Rated. Directed by Jerzy Skolimoski. In Polish, Italian, English and French with English subtitles.
Note: A key inspiration for EO, Robert Bresson’s Au Hasard Balthazar, will screen on Sunday, January 29 at noon.
With his first film in seven years, legendary director Jerzy Skolimowski (Deep End, Moonlighting) directs one of his most free and visually inventive films yet, following the travels of a nomadic gray donkey named EO. After being removed from the traveling circus, which is the only life he’s ever known, EO begins a trek across the Polish and Italian countryside, experiencing cruelty and kindness in equal measure, all the while observing the follies and triumphs of humankind. During his travels, EO is both helped and hindered by a cast of characters that includes a young Italian priest (Lorenzo Zurzolo), a Countess (Isabelle Huppert), and a rowdy Polish soccer team. Loosely inspired by Robert Bresson’s Au hasard Balthazar, and featuring immersive, stunning cinematography by Michal Dymek coupled with Pawel Mykietyn’s resonant score, Skolimowski’s film puts the viewer in the perspective of its four-legged protagonist. EO’s journey speaks to the world around us, an equine hero boldly pointing out societal ills, and serving as warning to the dangers of neglect and inaction, all while on a quest for freedom.