Ballarat Film Society – EO

Described by critics as a ‘sensuous reimagining of Robert Bresson’s Au hazard Balthazar’ (1966), EO is the name of a donkey sprung free from a circus and separated from Kasandra (Sandra Drzymalska), a young woman who dotes on him, only to wander around Poland witnessing degrees of difficulty as well as moments of kindness and grace.

Wandering through woods at night, EO’s long journey across Europe takes him through ugly industrialisation, including football pitches and a fur farm. Walking at a steady pace the filmmaker is determined to keep EO a mysterious animal who travels constantly, then stops for us to see what happens.

This is a film that concerns itself with seeing an animal as an animal, yet along the way we witness confronting human world situations and are never unclear about the cinematic expressions of indifference and greed. Reviewed Sight and Sound, March 2023. High Gloss.

Poland, 2022, 86 min. Dir: 86-year-old Jerzy Skolimowski.

EO played by six donkey actors featuring cameos by Isabel Huppert and a robotic dog.