Silent Friend by Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi emerges as one of the most captivating entries at the Venice Film Festival, weaving together science, poetry, and the elusive mysteries of life. Dubbed by the press as “the tree film,” its central motif is the magnificent gingko tree at Marburg University’s botanical garden. Yet, this description hardly captures the depth of Enyedi’s vision, which transforms a scientific study into a lyrical meditation on communication and existence.
At the heart of the story is the gingko tree, a living metaphor for loneliness, resilience, and curiosity. Without a male counterpart to bear fruit, the tree mirrors the isolation of human characters who can speak of plants but fail to express their inner solitude. It becomes a subject of neuroscientific inquiry: can a tree register the presence of those around it? Covered with receptors and wires, the tree symbolizes humanity’s eternal quest to connect across boundaries of species and time.
The film unfolds in three intertwined narratives. In the modern era, Professor Wong (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), a scholar of pre-verbal infants, navigates cultural differences during the 2020 Covid lockdown, forming an unexpected connection with the solitary German caretaker Anton. In 1908, young Grete (Luna Wedler) battles systemic sexism as she strives to become the first woman in the university’s science faculty, enduring the ridicule of professors who reduce her knowledge to innuendo. By 1972, farm boy Hannes (Enzo Brumm) discovers both heartbreak and inspiration in his attraction to Gundula, whose experiments with plant communication echo the counterculture spirit of the era.
What ties these timelines together is Enyedi’s exploration of communication beyond words: between humans, plants, and all living things. Lush shots of germinating seeds, long views of the gingko, and sensual close-ups of flora create a sensory experience that is as philosophical as it is visual. Rather than offering clear resolutions, the film embraces uncertainty. There are no definitive answers—only the enduring drive of curiosity, the tentative responses of plants, and a profound sense of wonder.
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Enyedi, previously celebrated for her Golden Bear-winning film On Body and Soul (2017), once again demonstrates her mastery of blending intellectual rigor with emotional depth. Silent Friend resists conventional storytelling, leaving audiences not with conclusions but with questions—about nature, science, and the fragile threads that bind all forms of life. It is a work that lingers, not because it resolves, but because it dares to remain open.
