Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend Opens in Germany After Venice Acclaim

The release spotlights a century-crossing triptych that explores human isolation through plant perception.

Overview

  • Set at Philipps University Marburg, the film centers on a venerable ginkgo that quietly links stories from 1908, 1972, and 2020.
  • Enyedi differentiates the eras with distinct formats, using 35mm black-and-white, grainy 16mm color, and contemporary HD imagery.
  • Key strands include a student’s sensor-led geranium experiment in the 1970s and a 2020 neurologist from Hong Kong wiring the ginkgo during lockdown with guidance from a botanist over video calls.
  • The ensemble features Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Luna Wedler, Enzo Brumm, Marlene Burow, Martin Wuttke, and Léa Seydoux in a GermanyFranceHungary coproduction running 147 minutes.
  • Premiering in competition at Venice, the film drew strong reviews, and Luna Wedler received a newcomer prize as critics highlighted Enyedi’s poetic approach to plant–human attention.