Recommendation: 3/5 STREAM
Plot: “Follows a donkey who encounters on his journeys good and bad people, experiences joy and pain, exploring a vision of modern Europe through his eyes.” -IMDB
Review: Before jumping into the review for EO, I want to pause for a moment. This film marks my 1,000th movie in a theater. Naturally, I am feeling nostalgic.
I love art in all its forms, but I love the art of cinema the most. When the lights lower and the room fills with light and sound, I am transported elsewhere. For a couple of hours every week, my concerns vanish at the door. I am afforded opportunities to laugh and to cry. On the best days, I am transformed. At the worst, I am baffled by my inability to connect with a film.
The first movie I can remember seeing was Batman starring Michael Keaton. I remember seeing Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls for my birthday in the 7th grade. I remember impatiently waiting to get my license at 16. I wanted the freedom to drive to Lawton, Altus, or Wichita Falls to catch a movie on a Friday night. I remember college and the start of a Sunday tradition of heading to the movies with my fraternity brothers; a tradition I continue every Sunday. I remember my first film festival, going to the movies alone for the first time, and every friend who has gone on this journey with me. I remember reading my first published review in a newspaper, a friend inviting me to write again, and invitations to appear on podcasts.
Yes, this obsession of mine is dorky. But this hobby of mine has taken me to fantastic places. I’ve met actors, stood on red carpets, attended world premieres, written hundreds of thousands of words about movies, held my own screening, and argued film with friends both near and far.
This art form has changed me for the better. The cinematic experience is changing, and art-house films are struggling. Yet, I will keep attending as long as there is a seat for me, always with the hope of a transformative experience.
Now, back to the review.
EO opens on the center ring of a circus. Strobing red lights direct our attention to a donkey lying flat on his back. Instantly, intrigue takes over. Performing alongside a young woman who cares for EO, they receive a scattering of applause from the audience in attendance.
Outside the big top, protesters scream, and chant rehearsed slogans. They believe the circus is a den of animal cruelty. They might be right, but not before the tax man closes the show for good. Repossessed, EO begins a journey. The journey before him and what we are supposed to learn along the way isn’t clear, but there is joy to be found in not knowing.
In this movie, EO will work on a farm. He will escape. EO will confront the unpredictable wild. He will head for a more familiar cityscape. EO becomes a football team's mascot. Rival fans will attempt to take his life. EO will survive to become property once again. He becomes an object of religious symbolism. And EO will meet animals meant for slaughter.
The journey of this special animal gives us pause. With each episode, the filmmakers ask us to question man’s relationship with animals. Using the camera intimately, the filmmakers humanize EO. Shown to possess human emotions; they stage this animal as more than a beast. The color red will continue to visit the screen as a way of grabbing our attention and forcing the audience to bear witness. Much of this film is not driven by dialogue. Instead, the silent gazes of an animal looking for love move the story forward.
I have written this phrase countless times, but it bears repeating. All films have a thesis. EO wants its audience to ask profound questions about how we treat animals. To varying degrees, it achieves this aim. As an audience member, you will have to wrestle with your response to that thesis. For me, the execution felt heavy-handed and academic. This film can feel as if a finger is being pointed straight at the audience. While I fully acknowledge we must do a better job of caring for all creatures with whom we share this planet, I wonder if this type of storytelling was the best approach.
Be good to each other,
Nathan