Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		5.0

EO Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 3, 2024

Director Jerzy Skolimowski is on hand in a supplementary interview included on this disc discussing how he had long wanted to make some kind of a movie focusing on an animal, but that he couldn't decide which animal to feature, other than that he knew going in he didn't want to opt for dogs or cats, since there were already so many films about those species, many of which Skolimowski jokes "weren't exactly masterpieces". When he spied a donkey at a "living Nativity" event around Christmas one year, he hit upon the idea of featuring that kind of equine, and furthermore, he even thought that his film should be a "road movie" documenting a donkey's journey from captivity to its "starring role" in a Nativity scene. Suffice it to say the ending of EO is about the polar opposite of a Nativity scene, giving the film a figuratively and literally (if offscreen) shocking finale, but that may only reinforce the completely commendable perspective Skolimowski offers, one which suggests we humans are in fact more animal-like than many of the beasts we treat with various levels of negligence or, in some cases, outright abuse.

Eo is a donkey who is part of a circus act with his caregiver Kasandra (Sandra Drzymalska), who obviously loves him and nurtures him almost like a child. In a kind of ironic twist, some PETA-like activists manage to get the circus shot down, and Eo is among the animals taken by authorities, supposedly to move them on to greener pastures. What ensues is a sometimes tragicomic, at other times almost hallucinatory, trek Eo takes through various environments and with various humans wafting in and out of the story. It's an amazing piece of filmmaking that understandably relies less on dialogue than on its visual ingenuity, which is formidable. Skolimowski artfully indicates Eo's emotions and perhaps even thoughts as the donkey wanders through both urban and rural environments and comes in contact with both well meaning and nefarious humans.

Any animal lover should be entranced by EO, even if the film is more than occasionally on the disturbing side, as the sweet (if occasionally rambunctious) donkey wallows through almost Job-like afflictions. Michale Dymek's evocative cinematography and Pawel Mykietyn's beautifully articulated score help to support the story. The film rather incredibly has one undeniable marquee star in Isabelle Huppert, who shows up late in the tale as an Italian countess. EO was feted with a number of high profile nominations and awards, including a Palme d'Or nomination and Jury Prize and Soundtrack wins at Cannes, and an Academy Award nomination for Best International Feature Film (it lost to All Quiet on the Western Front, and had I been voting, I frankly would have opted for EO over the German entry). EO ends up serving as an undeniable "be kind to animals" story, and it does so with an amazingly unique and innovative style.

EO Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

EO is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion (more about that in a moment) with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.44:1. While the thumbnail for this release has the "traditional" crescent C against a gray background, as can be seen on screenshot 10, the main menu does not resemble most Criterion releases, and there is in fact no "Criterion Collection" branding on the disc, though there is branding for The Criterion Channel and Janus Films (and its Janus Contemporaries imprint). One way or the other, though, this disc offers the same typically excellent video quality that frequently graces "real" Criterion releases. Captured with Arri Alexas and finished at 4K, this is a stunning looking presentation that segues from almost documentarian naturalism to downright psychedelic proclivities at times. The palette can similarly vary from "normal" looking to some really aggressive grading, often toward hellish reds. Despite these many changes, detail levels are generally excellent throughout, and fine detail on things like Eo's bristly fur is almost palpable a lot of the time. Commendably, I noticed absolutely no banding despite some scenes slathered in various hues where lighting values suddenly change.

EO Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Our audio specs typically allow for only one language, and so I've defaulted to Polish above, but the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track actually has a smattering of several languages, including Italian, English and French in addition to Polish. All of that said (and no pun intended vis a vis the use of "said"), dialogue is really not all that important in the film, other than to quickly establish some human characters. Instead a lot of this film relies on an immersive blend of ambient environmental effects and Pawel Mykietyn's haunting score. All elements are delivered with consistent surround activity and excellent fidelity. Optional English subtitles are available.

EO Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of EO (HD; 23:53) offers Jerzy Skolimowski and Ewa Piakowska discussing the film. In English.


• All the Donkeys (HD; 4:23) offers Skolimowski accepting the Cannes Jury Prize and celebrating the donkeys who played Eo.


• Trailer (HD; 1:45)

Additionally a four page leaflet is included which offers some thoughts from Michael Joshua Rowin.

EO Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I had been a kinda sorta vegetarian from my teen years after an early girlfriend had asked me to forego eating meat, but what pushed me over into full time vegetarianism was viewing a horrifying documentary called The Animals Film, which was narrated by Julie Christie, and which showed the appalling conditions many animals are consigned to before they're "processed" (as that hygienically cleansed euphemism terms it). EO basically tells a similar story to many depicted in that long ago documentary, though from a more intimate and "personal" perspective. It's an absolutely arresting film which packs an unexpected emotional wallop. Technical merits are solid, and the main supplementary interview very interesting. Highly recommended.