EO – A Minimalistic Storytelling Masterclass

Let’s just face it, EO is simply a Polish film about a donkey named EO for better or worse but that should by no means be a disqualifier for what is otherwise a terrific piece of storytelling, animal or not. Audiences are going to fall in love with EO while it will be easy to forget that it is a donkey they are watching. Given a very human story with plenty of human emotion, EO (or Ola, Taco, Marietta, Ettore, Rocco and Mela) delivers one of the best performances of the year. Despite minimal dialog, the film achieves this through editing and camerawork to capture emotion and create that connection with audiences. That being said, whatever it may do well technically, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a film about a donkey. With a brisk running time of just under 90 minutes, it’s ultimate success lies on that connection with the donkey because besides that, there admittedly is not that much there. Though what happens around the donkey may not be particularly memorable, that emotion most definitely is.

As mentioned, EO is told from the perspective of a donkey named EO and chronicles his adventures across Europe both good and bad and the variety of people it met along the way. Its various encounters don’t particularly matter other than capturing the good and bad of humans over the course of the film and its impact on its condition. Creating an incredibly-immersive experience, audiences are truly seeing the world from its eyes and experiencing it as EO experienced it. Nowhere near a blank slate, it feels pain, confusion, loss, and grief among countless other emotions just as any normal human would. Capturing that emotion through editing and great camerawork, including a lot of closeups, one can’t help but feel what it feels as the film emphasizes the fact that it is merely a small part of a world that felt much larger than it did. The latter fact only made it that much easier to empathize with it as its survival wasn’t necessarily a sure thing contrasted with the unpredictable world it faced. Nevertheless, EO seemed to have an uncanny ability to persevere in spite of its circumstances.

In the end, EO is better served being short as its premise is perfectly-contained within its running time while making the most out of so little. It’s a compelling not to mention beautiful watch that should be applauded for offering a unique brand of storytelling that succeeds for the most part even though the supporting story was lacking. It’s a tough balance, handling the story of EO and not making the human contribution not too much of a distraction but the latter was thin and unmemorable. Featuring a predominantly Polish cast and Isabelle Huppert in a small role, they mostly came and went and essentially served as plot devices. Ultimately, the best part of the film was of course the donkey. Inevitably getting cute points from a large portion of audiences. the film also creates a memorable performance which at the end of the day, is a testament to the direction to keep the vision under control and keep all its facets firing on all cylinders.

For a film about a donkey, EO is so much more. While it may be rough around the edges, it offers considerable vision and succeeds at creating a powerful narrative around so little. And for that, it should be applauded.

still courtesy of Janus Films

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.