"EO" - Film Review
EO’s main character is a donkey (portrayed by six different donkeys: Ettore, Hola, Marietta, Mela, Rocco, and Tako). As such, the film is fairly light on dialogue. Instead, the audience spends much of its time looking at the world through EO’s forlorn eyes. He is born into the life of a circus performer, but is ripped away and sent to live with a variety of people across Poland. The film is about humanity through the eyes of a donkey, who, despite everything he experiences, maintains an optimism about his life.
There’s something devastating about watching the fate of an animal as it is negatively affected by humans. It’s why people say they have no trouble watching people die in movies, but god forbid the dog doesn’t make it. It must have something to do with the trust animals put in us. From the moment EO gazes up at the camera with his big, adoring eyes, it’s impossible not to fall in love with him and fear for his survival. He reminds us of our pets at home with their own big, dumb eyes. Looking to us to care for them, to give them a safe haven in this cruel world.
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Perhaps it’s because animals cannot speak and have a natural wariness toward humans that it feels like an accomplishment to be chosen by one. When a cat rubs up against your leg or a dog leaps into your lap, it’s because they sense you can protect them. The same goes for EO. The film makes it seem as though he has chosen us and it is our responsibility to watch over him on his travels. It feels strange to praise the performance of a donkey who was likely merely existing as it normally does, but it was the perfect animal for this story. Sturdy enough to believe that it could travel as far as it does, but thoughtful and cuddly in a way that immediately sparks warmth. So much information is understood from the way EO breathes. The audience can immediately tell how he’s feeling. Is he scared, happy, loved? Who made him feel that way?
EO is a stark and oftentimes angry look at humanity’s impact on the natural world. More than the human characters’ treatment of EO, it’s the film’s duality of man-made spaces vs. the open grasslands of nature. The film forces the audience to look at what we’ve done to animals, what we’ve done to nature, and what that says about us.
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