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Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend Opens in U.S. Theaters

The Venice-laureled drama uses a century in one garden to probe how humans perceive nature.

Ildiko Enyedi's new film 'Silent Friend' tackles the human need for connection, and the obstacles that get in its way

Overview

  • The film is now playing in select U.S. cinemas in a limited theatrical run.
  • It spans 1908, 1972, and 2020 at a German university’s botanical garden, with a lone ginkgo tree as a steady presence.
  • Tony Leung leads the 2020 thread as a neuroscientist opposite Léa Seydoux’s botanist, with their work framed by a pandemic lockdown.
  • Enyedi differentiates each era with distinct formats—35mm black‑and‑white for 1908, grainy color for 1972, and precise digital for 2020—plus plant point‑of‑view and time‑lapse imagery.
  • Enyedi and reviewers point to themes of scientific curiosity, changing gender dynamics in academia, and the struggle to connect across language barriers.