Eo

Eo is the latest film from legendary Polish director, Jerzy Skolimowski. It's also the name of the lead character, a donkey, and cripes, does this poor fecker go through some shit. He starts out as a circus donkey with a caring handler, Kasandra (Sandra Drzymalska), but is soon 'rescued' by animal liberationists and sent to some sort of equestrian complex. He's just as downtrodden here though, so he runs slightly amok, and is sent off to a donkey sanctuary in the hills. Things seem comfy here until Kasandra visits drunk one night and Eo decides (I guess) to chase her when she leaves. 

The film is an extended period in the life of this donkey and how its presence affects the people around it. There are several great overhead shots of the Polish and Italian landscapes and one drone sequence that made me feel slightly woozy (in a good way). The action follows the hapless Eo from situation to situation and shines a light on the varying levels of ugly humanity that he encounters - from football hooligans to shonky priests. But these rough moments are just about matched by the kindness of other humans - it's pretty much a rollercoaster ride for poor old Eo, though ultimately, it's clear that his wellbeing is not at the top of anyone's priority list. 

Isabelle Huppert appears as The Countess, and it's an almost intangible shock when we see her. I mean, this isn't a bad film but surely she must have owed Jerzy a favour. Like all the humans in the film, though, she isn't in it for too long. Eo is the throughline and the orbital occurrences seem like so much piffle to him. I reckon that's the rub of this film - we may think everything in our lives is so important but the incidental beast of burden (and virtually every other living thing in the world) rightly couldn't give a shit.

Eo is screening at UWA Somerville from Nov 27 - Dec 3 as part of the Perth Festival.

See also:

I suppose it would be poor form not to mention Robert Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) but I haven't seen it, so can't recommend. I does seem to be a companion piece, though. I do heartily recommend Jérôme Boivin's Baxter (1989), a fantastic film seen through the eyes of a murderous bull terrier.