#kościukiewicz

[cinematicjourney]

EO (2022) | dir. Jerzy Skolimowski

[rookie-critic]

EO (2022, dir. Jerzy Skolimowski) - review by Rookie-Critic

Every now and then I'll get hit with a surprise. Something I wasn't really expecting, normally something I hadn't heard of or hadn't planned to see until just before purchasing the ticket, that comes along and really sticks with me. EO is one of those films. It's this year's entry from Poland for the Best International Feature Film award at the Oscars and a reimagining of a Robert Bresson film from the 60s called Au Hasard Balthazar. EO follows the story of a donkey named, well, EO as it goes through life, with almost all of the film taking place from his point of view. These types of movies have always interested me ever since my dad showed me a French film from 1988 called The Bear, which is a mostly dialogue free film told from the point of view of a bear cub, although it's a bit more of a family film than EO with a story that's got a little more mass appeal. Giving a voice to something that otherwise would not have one in any conventional story is not only commendable, but it is also incredibly challenging. How do you keep a story like this engaging for a feature-length amount of time? Skolimowski manages to accomplish this by focusing more on the idea that we can't really know what EO is actually thinking, and therefore are free to project however we feel about all of these situations our donkey finds himself in onto him, which, in a way, is exactly what the people he interacts with are doing, too, for better and for worse.

The film is presented very coldly, and shot in a way that is both impersonal and fully empathetic at the same time. We're not connecting and empathizing with EO because of any particular thing that he is doing or thinking because he is just acting like a donkey, we're empathizing with him because he is an animal, pure and clean of all fault or wrongdoing. We want the best things to happen to EO because we would want that for any animal (or at least anyone in their right mind would), EO just happens to be the focus of this particular story. I heard another critic say that "the movie isn't so much about the donkey as it is the people around him," and while I think there is truth to that, it seems diminishing to lay that down as a blanket statement, because this film isn't just about the human condition through a lens that is alien to us, it's also about humanity's relationship with animals and how we treat them. Some see animals as true companions, deserving of as much love and care as we would give another human being, some see animals as a totem, a symbol of something, whether that be something good, something selfish, or something filled with hate, and some just see animals as a means to an end, and even that aspect has a complexity all unto itself that is worth exploring, and Skolimowski does. He explores all of these aspects at one point or another during the film, and that brings with it a wildly varied experience. There are times when this movie is absolutely hilarious, and other times where it gets incredibly hard to watch, and sometimes these sequences are happening right next to each other (not to worry, though, right before the credits begin to roll, the film tells us that, throughout the entire filming process, all of the animals' safety was always the top priority).

Regardless of how we as individuals view animals, this film seeks to paint them as being capable of just as much complexity as us humans are. My one criticism of the film is that, due to the nature of the storytelling, there are a couple of narrative jumps that don't quite make sense, but ultimately that's not really what the film's focus is. It does slightly break the immersion into the film's world, but it is quickly re-overtaken by your interest in where EO is going and what will happen to him next. This really crept up on me, and I left the theater last night knowing I had just watched something really special. I'm not sure if it will win the Oscar or not (I venture to say it probably won't), but I'm so glad that its nomination put it on my radar, because it is a truly wonderful film.

Score: 9/10

Not currently available to watch online anywhere. It's possible that it is still playing in some theaters, so look around.

[onenakedfarmer]

Currently Watching

EO Jerzy Skolimowski Poland, 2022

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[militanikonorov]

Pracownia Dobrostanu - rozmowa z Dorotą Kościukiewicz Markowską

[criteriondiary]

EO

Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski • 2022 • Poland, Italy Starring Sandra Drzymalska, Lorenzo Zurzolo, Mateusz Kościukiewicz

ロバの視点で人間を描いたポーランドの映画。寓話的で面白い。

[lgbtfilmes]

"Em Nome de..." Conta a historia dramática do padre Adam (Andrzej Chyra) que cobre uma nova paróquia e organiza um centro para jovens socialmente desajustados. Ele rapidamente convence as pessoas com energia, carisma e abertura. A amizade com um estranho local (interpretado por Mateusz Kościukiewicz) forçará o padre a enfrentar seus próprios problemas, que ele escapou para o sacerdócio. "Em Nome de..." é um filme de drama polonês de 2013 dirigido por Małgorzata Szumowska . O filme ganhou o Prêmio Teddy de Melhor Longa-Metragem de LGBT tópicos no 63º Festival Internacional de Berlim e foi exibido no Frameline Film Festival, no Teatro Castro em San Francisco em 25 de Junho de 2013. O filme centra-se em um padre católico gay que vive na zona rural da Polônia. Recomendação: Diferente dos Outros(1919) IMDb

[kosciukiewicz]

Mateusz in the new movie “The Informer” ! He plays a gang member of polish mafia.

[hipol2003]

“The Best” Najlepszy

[olivierdemangeon]

THE INFORMER (2019) ★★★☆☆

THE INFORMER (2019) ★★★☆☆

[ravenkult]

Corridor scene by Radek Kościukiewicz https://www.artstation.com/artwork/3o5ArD

[cinematicjourney]

EO (2022) | dir. Jerzy Skolimowski

[rookie-critic]

Rookie-Critic's Top 25 Films of 2022: Honorable Mentions - EO (dir. Jerzy Skolimowski)

Another Best International Film nominee from this year's Oscars, EO is possibly the most intriguing film of the bunch. Following a sad-eyed donkey named EO as he walks through life interacting with all sorts of people, Polish filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski seeks to observe people in their most private moments, when they confide in something that can be as empathetic, excited, or as indifferent as they want it to be. This is probably the film on the list this year that I am still trying to fully comprehend, but unlike films like Infinity Pool or Inside, exploring the nooks and crannies of EO feels more like peeling back the layers of mystery worth solving, and the conclusions drawn from watching the film and contemplating its themes feel infinitely more rewarding and personal to each person watching. It's one that I hope to have the opportunity to watch again, because I'm sure I'd get even more out of it the second time around.

Currently streaming on The Criterion Channel.

Read my full review of EO here.

[onenakedfarmer]

Currently Watching

EO Jerzy Skolimowski Poland, 2022

[weirdletter]

Alchemy School, by Radek Kościukiewicz, via ArtStation.

[militanikonorov]

Rzucić wszystko i wyjechać do... Meksyku? Rozmowa z Dorotą Kościukiewicz...