Gorgeously filmed, experimental in style, and incredibly humanistic, "EO," recounts the experiences of the titular donkey — frequently from the animal's point of view. The film is Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski's ("Four Nights With Anna") homage to Robert Bresson's "Au Hasard Balthazar," and it arrives with bona fides, having won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and is Poland's selection as their official Oscar entry for Best International Film.
EO is first seen under a red strobe light with surging music. He is a circus animal who is cared for by Kasandra (Sandra Drzymalska) who is part of the Cyrk Orion. She feeds EO and gives him affection, and the donkey is wonderfully expressive even as the camera follows him trotting along. But protesters against animal abuse in the circus cause EO to be "repossessed" and taken from Kasandra. Viewers can see the sadness in his eyes.
