By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.3 cats
Director: Ildikó Enyedi
Starring: Enzo Brumm | Léa Seydoux | Luna Wedler | Sylvester Groth | Tony Leung Chiu Wai
Original language title: Stille Freundin
Year: 2026
Running time: 147
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27811632
Chris says: “I love cities and have never not lived in one; however, reasonable proximity to a botanical garden, natural reserve or even a leafy neighborhood park is essential. To spend an hour or the better part of an afternoon soundtracked by birdsong and surrounded by a spacious weeping willow or paths lined with flowers and other plants is a serene, near-meditative reminder of a planet populated by signs of life other than us dominating mammals.
“I suspect Hungarian writer/director Ildikó Enyedi had this in mind when she conceived of SILENT FRIEND. Its main ‘character’ is a voluminous ginkgo tree in a garden in the University town of Marburg, Germany—a constant presence across three time periods. The first follows visiting Hong Kong neurologist Tony Wong (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE‘s Tony Leung in his first European film) who’s stranded on campus during COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. The second centers on Grete (Luna Wedler) who in 1908 becomes the first female student accepted to the University. Set in 1972, the third story features Hannes (Enzo Brumm), a young male student from a rural background. Introduced in this order, the three narratives soon overlap, their narratives eventually bouncing off each other, often in obvious ways (the settings), occasionally just gradually surfacing (all three characters come off as likable misfits in terms of how others perceive them.)
“While all three form attachments to the ginkgo tree, the common motivator extends to how plant life transforms their understanding of their world. Wong, whose research involves tracking newborn brain activity via a digital scanner, is moved to perform a similar experiment on the gingko tree with assistance via Zoom from French botanist Alice Sauvage (Lea Seydoux); this is much to the bewilderment of the only other person on campus, janitor Anton (Sylvester Groth). Grete, who faces sexism at nearly every turn due to her pioneering presence at the university, finds solace in studying botany before stumbling into an apprenticeship as a photographer’s assistant where she soon combines her two budding (so to speak) interests. Hannes befriends a female classmate, Gundula (Marlene Burow), who, like Wong, tracks the development and behavior of plant life (in this case, a sole geranium’s activity recorded via an analog printer.) Hannes steps in for her when she leaves town for a long camping trip and also has something of an epiphany from attending to the plant (though he’s mostly scoffed at by his male, would-be-radicals classmates.)
“At two-and-a-half hours, SILENT FRIEND is slow cinema in the most palatable sense: immersive, thoughtful, deliberate and occasionally surprising (I’ve surely never been so invested in a geranium’s well-being before.) The digital scans in Wong’s narrative early on serve as a transition to the beginning of Grete’s story; then, they become a motif, gorgeous, hypnotic, swirling strands of color adding texture, working in tandem with the film’s soothing electronic score. It requires patience—in particular, the Hannes sections, which feel somewhat less profound than the other two until Gundula leaves town and Hannes more or less finds himself. Rather than escalate each narrative to a conclusive, triumphant end, Enyedi cumulatively arrives at something more metaphysical and resounding—a connection between us and the natural world that, if so inclined, carries an emotional charge and perhaps a spiritual one as well. Not for nothing is Goethe’s Metamorphosis of Plants a key text featured here. 4.5 cats“
Michael says: “Last year, my #10 book of the year was The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger. It explored the often mocked thesis that plants have intelligence, sentience, and even consciousness. I’ve always been fascinated by nature, and plants and trees specifically musing on the wisdom trees must develop staying rooted in a single spot watching the world go by for generations. In my late 20’s during my writing phase, I had even conceived and partially outline a novel about a young man and his relationship with a tree. So when I first read about SILENT FRIEND, not only was I looking forward to seeing a new film starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, the subject matter was something new and intriguing for the movies.
“Told over three time periods, the film centers on a massive gingko tree in the garden of a German University that specialized in Botany. Just before the COVID-19 lockdown, we meet Tony Wong (Leung) who conducts brain research with a method called Lantern Light Consciousness. When he is isolated at the University due to COVID-19, he meets with plant biologist Dr. Alice Sauvage (Léa Seydoux, THE BEAST) online and suggests they merge their research. He wants to explore the possibility of consciousness in the old gingko tree in the garden.
“In the early 1900’s, Grete (Luna Wedler) takes advantage of the university accepting women for the first time. Her brilliance and her composure weather the overtly sexist interview with a panel of middle-aged white male professors and she makes in, but a false accusation gets her kicked out of the school, and she turns her talents to photography, working with glass plate negatives and ight to study plants in an entirely new way.
“The final sequence set in the early 70’s is perhaps the most entertaining, when Hannes becomes smitten with a fellow student Gundula, who is conducting experiments on plants as well. When she asks him what he thinks of plants, he states that he doesn’t like them, nor animals either, after being brought up on a farm. Still, even though things don’t spark between the two of them, when Gundula takes an extended trip, Hannes agrees to watch over her plants, particularly a geranium that is key to her experiments, and has a rather remarkable and amusing breakthrough.
“Exploring themes of isolation, sexuality, feminism and of course, botany, SILENT FRIEND unfolds slowly, but remains compelling throughout. Hungarian director Ildikó Enyed, and her cinematographer Gergely Pálos use three different techniques for the three time periods, and collectively create something truly magnificent, integrating incredible shots of trees and plants, stock footage, and tight close-ups of our protagonists, deepening both their separation from the crowd, and humanity. The beautiful editing that transports the viewer between time periods, and the serene score add to the beauty. A truly marvelous film. 4 1/2 cats”
Brett says: “Come for the ginkgo grow, stay for the geranium show. Thanks for the reviews. I enjoyed it as well. Editing was engaging over the course of a quiet and reflective film.