An experimental nature odyssey, “Eo” is so close to being sublime

Not all movies about animals have to be Bambi. You know what I mean: the naive, innocent animal faces a harsh world and loses innocence and in turn reveals humanity’s own callous and ungrateful persona. In that vein, EO is so close to elevating the animal film, its experimental and non-narrative structure leading to an air of unpredictability and interpretation.

Until the ending.

Then it just becomes another Bambi movie.

Written by Ewa Piaskowska and co-written and directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, EO follows a donkey named EO (actually played by six donkeys throughout the film: Ettore, Hola, Marietta, Mela, Rocco, and Tako) who is brought up in a circus by Kasandra (Sandra Drzymalska). Though she loves and treats him well, animal rights activists force the circus to be shut down, and EO is sent away. Through a series of extenuating circumstances, the donkey finds himself bouncing between different owners and witnessing the love and cruelty of humanity, from raging soccer fans to morally duplicitous men such as Vito (Lorenzo Zurzolo) and the strange relationship he has with his stepmother (Isabelle Huppert).

Beautifully shot by Michal Dymek, the film paints a portrait of a deeply flawed humanity, its relationship to nature supremely shortsighted and hostile. Through EO’s eyes, we see characters come and go, their hopes and demons glimpsed at just for a moment before EO is carted off to another location. It gives the film a pressing pertinence and dreamlike quality as the lives EO finds reflect a general apathy at the heart of European culture towards nature, consumed by its own fallibility and petty squabbles.

The meandering narrative makes for a tense viewing experience, built on the empathy of a single donkey, without motivation or agenda, just living. The film pulls at the heartstrings as we watch and project our emotions onto this donkey, giving him aspirations that he may or may not actually have.

Perhaps what is most annoying about EO is that it is so close to being great. While the film is a thought-provoking, experimental, modern take on Bresson’s Au hasard Balthazar, the obvious and blatant environmental message dilutes the overall experience. I mean; don’t hurt the donkey! It’s a rather shameful exploitation of audience emotions. EO is really good; it could have been great.