SILENT FRIEND Trailer: Tony Leung and Lea Seydoux Connect with Nature in Ildikó Enyedi’s Epic
It’s not so often we get to witness a new film from Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi, but when we do, it’s something truly unique to behold. Years after resurfacing with her Oscar-nominated drama On Body and Soul, she’s back with a century-spanning epic that examines the relationship between humans and nature. Silent Friend brings together an international cast that includes Tony Leung, Léa Seydoux, and newcomer Luna Wedler, who won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for her performance at last year’s Venice Film Festival.
The film follows the life of a single ginkgo tree in Germany through three loosely connected stories in three different eras. Following its Venice and TIFF premieres, 1-2 Special will release it in select theaters on May 8. It will also screen at NYC’s Film at Lincoln Center as part of a retrospective honoring Tony Leung from April 29 to May 7, with Leung in-person for select screenings.
Here’s the official synopsis:
At the heart of a German university grows a majestic ginkgo tree, its lifespan measured in centuries. As the years pass, the distinguished plant bears witness to the private lives of those who seek shade under its boundless branches, forming a nexus that connects three generations of students and teachers across time and space. In 2020, a visiting neuroscientist conducts a series of experiments into the possibilities of botanical consciousness. In 1972, a young student is profoundly changed by studying the behavior of a simple geranium. And in 1908, the university’s first female student’s photographic inquiries reveal sacred patterns of the universe hidden within the humblest of plants. Over time, each is transformed by the quiet, enduring, and mysterious power of nature. From Ildikó Enyedi, the director of Academy Award-nominated On Body and Soul, comes Silent Friend, an epic, awe-inspiring exploration of the natural world. Featuring an ensemble cast that includes Tony Leung, Léa Seydoux, and Venice Prize-winning newcomer Luna Wedler, Enyedi crafts a thoughtful meditation on the essential question of what it means to be human.
Watch the U.S. trailer below.
