When Thierry Frémaux, the general delegate of the Cannes Film Festival, announced that EO, a film shot from the point of view of a donkey, was going to be part of the official competition of the 75th edition, the reactions were a bit circumspect. We could have expected a film a little ridiculous or too strange, but it is not, EO (named after the donkey in question) is a great success. The Polish Jerzy Skolimowski, cult filmmaker of the 1970s and 1980s is behind the camera and makes this adventure a real heartbreaker.
With EO, it's not so much about the donkey as it is about how humans view him. In turn, he will meet truckers, hooligans, slaughterhouse managers, and each time, it is a new form of violence that the poor animal will be confronted to. And if the main character remains the donkey, this does not prevent some well-known faces from making their appearance, like that of Isabelle Huppert, for example. Very great admirer of Robert Bresson, the director did not hide being inspired by Au hasard Balthazar, whose story is a variation.
The world is a mysterious place, especially when seen through the eyes of an animal. On his way, EO, a grey donkey with melancholic eyes, meets good people and bad, experiences joy and sorrow, and the wheel of fortune turns his luck into disaster and his despair into unexpected happiness. But never, at any moment, does he lose his innocence.
Even though he has a blank stare and often walks at random, EO Donkey is a true movie character. His fate is overwhelming and it is difficult not to be moved. The visual experiments of the filmmaker mark the retina and make Hi-Han a great aesthetic slap. A great anti-speciesist crusade, the film never adds to its indignation, it only shows the reality of the treatment of animals that have the misfortune to cross paths with ill-intentioned or simply cruel humans.
The magnificent soundtrack underlines the chaotic dimension of the film. The form ends up joining the substance, especially when the image changes color and becomes the witness of the brutality on which the animal's encounters are based. It is a film not to be put in all hands, but it is important to see it, as much for its content as for the way it dynamizes the frame. At 84, Jerzy Skolimowski proves that he has clearly not lost his touch and that the younger generations still have a lot of inspiration to draw from his .
October 2024 cinema releases: films showing and opening times near you
Good news for cinephiles! October is full of surprises in theaters! We take a look at the cinema releases for October 2024! [Read more]
October 2024 cinema releases: films showing and opening times near you
