INDEX
What the donkey’s gaze represents. Re-encountering the world with a sense of letting go of preconceptions and ideas.
This is true even for the actions of humans depicted through the eyes of EO. Whether it is the insistence of an animal rights group, the kind behavior of a kind-hearted woman, the conflict between soccer teams, a sudden murder, or a veterinarian saving EO without regard to profit or loss – they are not placed as elements that make up the story. The violence that the EOs occasionally suffer from humans may make the viewer angry, but that does not mean that they are introduced to “make a point” by the writer that “humans are cruel. They just happen there.
In an interview, Skolimowski said that he is heartbroken by the current escalation of war in Europe. Many people are probably trying to find different meanings and contexts for the tragic events happening in the world today. And sometimes, they may even make a “statement” or “message” about them.
EO”, however, confronts the world in a completely different way. It completely lets go of preconceived notions and rigid ideas, and simply looks and listens to what is happening in the moment. Wherever you go, you will see …… with eyes as unclouded as a donkey’s, sensuously. There are joys and sorrows, surprises and pleasures that transcend meaning, and Skolimowski seems to suggest that this is what cinema is all about. He seems to suggest that cinema – art – is not only for “understanding.
Some may feel that it is too innocent to try to capture the world as purely as a donkey when they think of the tragedies being caused around the world today by human beings. However, “EO” overcomes such cynicism with the power of its poetic cinematic expression. And we, the viewers of this film, are able to confront the world we thought we understood with a new sense of wonder.
