Few filmmakers have had as idiosyncratic a career as Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski. But Skolimowski may have saved one of his best movies for a late-career highlight with “EO,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, where it co-won the Jury Prize with “The Eight Mountains.”
Inspired by Robert Bresson‘s 1966 film “Au Hasard Balthazar,” the film follows a donkey that escapes the Polish circus to traverse the countryside on an absurd and stirring adventure.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
EO, a gray donkey with melancholic eyes and a curious spirit, begins his life as a circus performer before escaping on a trek across the Polish and Italian countryside in a journey marked by absurdity and warmth in equal measure. Legendary filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski directs one of his most free and visually inventive films yet, placing the viewer directly in the heart and mind of the four-legged protagonist.
“EO” may be Skolimowski’s 18th feature film, and his first in seven years, but it’s a riveting coda to a great career. The Playlist’s Cannes review of the film called it “a joyful, experimental, and strangely moving piece of filmmaking that doesn’t always take itself seriously—yet it is nothing if not sincere.” Other critics agree: “EO” currently has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Audiences in NYC and LA get a chance to see “EO” in theaters in a limited release, starting on November 18 in NYC and December 2 in LA. Watch a trailer for the film below.
