Title – EO (2022) 

Director – Jerzy Skolimowski (Moonlighting) 

Cast – Sandra Drzymalska, Isabelle Huppert, Lorenzo Zurzolo

Plot – Journeying through modern day Europe, donkey EO experiences a wide-ranging array of human behavior, showcasing the best and worst of mankind towards their animal counterparts.  

“May all your dreams come true” 

Review by Eddie on 25/08/2023

To the best of my (far my expert knowledge), Polish film EO is the only feature film centered around a donkey to be nominated for an Academy Award. 

Competing at this years 2023 Oscar ceremony in the Best International Feature Film category, EO is the latest product from veteran European filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski, who has been active in the cinema landscape since 1960 and showcasing that he is still interested in making unique and uncompromising features, Skolimowski has here crafted a rare film for adults centered entirely around an animal protagonist, which here is unfortunate donkey EO. 

Taking us on a road trip journey across Europe from circuses, truck driving life, farms, to the wide open lands, EO is often filmed as if we are witnessing events taking place from the eyes of our four legged character who gets to be privy to an array of human behavior’s and issues all the while trying to find his place in the modern world that will allow him to finally settle down and smell the roses. 

For anyone expecting a feel good oddball exercise EO will surely disappoint as Skolimowski, couldn’t be more disinterested in making a heartwarming experience rather he uses EO as a tool to explore issues of the modern day with the donkey at the center of this tale only able to stand back and watch events take place around him that lead to some heart wrenching moments and a final scene that won’t soon be forgotten. 

Well-filmed and captured and brave in its determination to not give in too easy wins or too be expected narrative movements, an unfortunate aspect of EO is the fact whenever our donkey companion is shunned to the sidelines the human characters and their very human and underwhelming screen time moments don’t make for engaging viewing and the film suffers badly whenever we are taken away from the raw and intimate nature of EO’s personal experiences. 

It’s hard to compare EO to anything else that has come before it but while it doesn’t end up standing out as a masterpiece of European arthouse cinema, EO is still a unique and often touching road trip movie with a difference that somehow turns a non-speaking donkey into an engaging central figure we want to see find peace and happiness against all the odds staked against him. 

Final Say – 

The best film yet made where a donkey is a main point of contact, EO is a film with a difference, dealing with familiar scenarios and themes, making it a memorable tale (tail?) despite its inability to create interest outside of its main star. 

3 1/2 carrot necklaces out of 5