EO | |
---|---|
Polish | IO |
Directed by | Jerzy Skolimowski |
Written by |
|
Produced by |
|
Starring | |
Cinematography | Michał Dymek |
Edited by | Agnieszka Glińska |
Music by | Paweł Mykietyn |
Production companies |
|
Release dates |
|
Running time | 88 minutes [1] |
Countries |
|
Languages |
|
Box office | $2.6 million [2] |
EO (Polish : IO) is a 2022 Polish-Italian drama road movie directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. Inspired by Robert Bresson's 1966 film Au Hasard Balthazar , it follows the life of a donkey. [3]
The film premiered in competition at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2022, where it won the Jury Prize, tying with The Eight Mountains . [4] Submitted by Poland, EO was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. [5]
EO is a donkey working for a Polish circus. He performs in an act with Kasandra, who loves and protects him. When Animal Rights activists help get the circus shut down, EO is taken away and brought to a horse stable to work. In the truck being transported, and at the stables, EO sees horses running free and being pampered. After knocking over a shelf of trophies, EO is sent to a farm, where he seems depressed and won't eat. He gives rides to children through woods, where trees continue to be cut down to create space for man.
One night Kasandra visits him, bringing him a carrot muffin for his birthday, and telling him, "may all your dreams come true." When she leaves, EO gets through the fence and tries to follow her, getting lost. EO walks through the dark forest among various non-human life. Hunters with laser scopes begin shooting. EO observes a mortally wounded wolf. Sometime later, EO walks through an empty town, and in a store window sees tropical fish in an aquarium. He ends up at a soccer game, and his braying distracts a penalty shot, angering the losing team. The winning team takes EO with them to a local bar. That night, members of the losing team ransack the bar, and upon seeing EO, beat him nearly to death. A four-legged robot is seen struggling to successfully stand and right itself.
EO is at an animal hospital, where a janitor questions why the vet is trying to save him. Later, EO is working at a fur factory where a man shocks and kills terrified foxes. EO kicks the man in the head, possibly killing him. EO is loaded into a truck with other animals, though he isn't on the manifest. The driver, Mateo, stops at a rest stop and gives food to a homeless woman who runs away after he suggests having sex with her. An unknown figure slits Mateo's throat. Nearby, a priest named Vito is traveling to his family home and sees EO tied to a pole, as the police investigate Mateo's murder. Vito takes EO with him. Like Kasandra, Vito talks to EO like a person, even admitting he has eaten donkey meat sausage. Vito and his stepmother, The Countess, argue about Vito's gambling. EO notices the gate into The Countess' estate has opened, and he leaves. EO walks over a stone bridge in front of a large dam, watching the water flow. Sometime later, EO is with cows being led into a slaughterhouse. The screen goes to black, followed by the sound of a captive bolt pistol being fired, indicating EO has been slaughtered.
The donkey Eo is portrayed by six donkeys: Ettore, Hola, Marietta, Mela, Rocco, and Tako.
EO was shot in both Poland and Italy. Filming locations in Poland included the Wilanów Palace in Warsaw as well as remote villages throughout the Podkarpackie Voivodeship and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. In Italy, the film was shot in Rome and Sicily. Principal photography was completed by March 2022. [6]
The film had its world premiere in competition at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2022. [1] [7] It had a limited theatrical release in USA by Janus Films on 18 November 2022. [8] [9] It was released on VOD by Criterion on 23 February 2023. [8]
EO grossed near $1.1 million in North America, [8] and $1.3 million in other territories for a total worldwide of $2.3 million. [2]
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, EO holds an approval rating of 97% based on 151 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's consensus reads, "Bravely updating Bresson with brilliant results, EO is a donkey-driven drama that'll stubbornly stick with you long after the credits roll." [9] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film holds a score of 85 out of 100 based on 30 reviews indicating "universal acclaim". [10]
EO was ranked fourth on Cahiers du Cinéma 's top 10 films of 2022 list. [11]
EO was submitted by Poland for the 2023 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, and made the December shortlist. [12] [13] [14]
Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste is an English actress. She is known for her role in Mike Leigh's drama film Secrets & Lies (1996), for which she received acclaim and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award in the same category.
Jerzy Skolimowski is a Polish film director, screenwriter, dramatist, actor and painter. Beginning as a screenwriter for Andrzej Wajda's Innocent Sorcerers (1960), Skolimowski has made more than twenty films since his directorial debut The Menacing Eye (1960). In 1967 he was awarded the Golden Bear prize for his Belgian film The Departure (1967). Among his other notable films is Deep End (1970), starring Jane Asher and John Moulder Brown.
Jacques Audiard is a French film director, producer, and screenwriter. Over the course of his career, he has received numerous accolades including two British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globes, ten Cesar Awards and four prizes from the Cannes Film Festival.
Paweł Jan Mykietyn is a Polish award-winning composer and clarinetist.
Austin Robert Butler is an American actor. Butler began his career on television, first in roles on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, most notably on Zoey 101 (2007–2008), and later on teen dramas, including recurring parts on The CW's Life Unexpected (2010–2011) and Switched at Birth (2011–2012). He gained recognition for starring in The Carrie Diaries (2013–2014) and The Shannara Chronicles (2016–2017). Butler made his Broadway debut in the 2018 revival of The Iceman Cometh and portrayed Tex Watson in Quentin Tarantino's film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).
Danielle Deadwyler is an American actress. She began her career as a theatre actress in Atlanta, Georgia. She then transitioned to film and television roles and made her screen debut in the 2012 drama film A Cross to Bear. Deadwyler appeared in the primetime soap opera The Haves and the Have Nots (2015–2017), the drama series P-Valley (2020), and the miniseries Station Eleven (2021–2022) and From Scratch (2022).
Mikaela Madison Rosberg is an American actress. She began her career acting in short films and received recognition for her role as a sullen teenager in the FX comedy series Better Things (2016–2022). Madison then played Susan Atkins in Quentin Tarantino's period comedy-drama film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and Amber Freeman in the horror film Scream (2022). She gained praise for playing the titular character in Sean Baker's romantic comedy-drama film Anora (2024), earning several accolades, including nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award.
Thomasin Katherin Helen Harcourt McKenzie is a New Zealand actress. After a minor role in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), she rose to critical prominence for playing a young girl living in isolation in Debra Granik's drama film Leave No Trace (2018), winning the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance.
Triangle of Sadness is a 2022 satirical black comedy film written and directed by Ruben Östlund in his English-language feature debut. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Dolly de Leon, Zlatko Burić, Iris Berben, Vicki Berlin, Henrik Dorsin, Jean-Christophe Folly, Amanda Walker, Oliver Ford Davies, Sunnyi Melles, and Woody Harrelson. It follows a celebrity couple on a luxury cruise with wealthy guests who end up stranded on an island and fighting for survival.
Decision to Leave is a 2022 South Korean neo-noir romantic mystery film directed, co-written and produced by Park Chan-wook. The film follows married detective Jang Hae-jun, whose investigation of a man's death leads him to the man's widow, Chinese immigrant Song Seo-rae. Hae-jun's investigation of Seo-rae as a suspect gradually leads him to develop feelings towards her.
The Worst Person in the World is a 2021 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Joachim Trier, who co-wrote the screenplay with Eskil Vogt. It is the third film in the director's Oslo trilogy, following Reprise (2006) and Oslo, August 31st (2011).
Renate Reinsve is a Norwegian actress. She made her film debut in Oslo, August 31st (2011). In 2021, she had her breakout role in the critically acclaimed drama The Worst Person in the World (2021), for which she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She has since starred in the American legal thriller series Presumed Innocent and drama film A Different Man.
Close is a 2022 coming-of-age drama film directed by Lukas Dhont, and written by Dhont and Angelo Tijssens, reteaming after their first feature film Girl (2018). The film stars Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele, Émilie Dequenne and Léa Drucker. It follows two teenage boys whose close friendship is thrown into disarray when their schoolmates notice their intimacy, causing a rift between them.
Sandra Drzymalska is a Polish actress.
The Taste of Things, previously titled The Pot-au-Feu, is a 2023 French historical romantic drama film written and directed by Trần Anh Hùng starring Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel.
May December is a 2023 American black comedy drama film directed by Todd Haynes from a screenplay by Samy Burch, based on a story by Burch and Alex Mechanik. It stars Natalie Portman as an actress who travels to meet and study the life of Gracie, the controversial woman she is set to play in a film—a woman infamous for the 24-year-long relationship with her husband Joe, which began when he was 13 years old and she was 36.