Tony Leung and Léa Seydoux Connect with Nature in U.S. Trailer for Silent Friend, Set to Release This May.

      In an intriguing collaboration, Ildikó Enyedi has united Tony Leung and Léa Seydoux for Silent Friend, which narrates three interconnected stories centered around a tree spanning over a century. Following its premieres at Venice and TIFF, 1-2 Special is set to release the film in the U.S. starting May 8, and the new trailer has arrived. Additionally, Film at Lincoln Center in New York City will hold a retrospective honoring Tony Leung from April 29 to May 7, featuring him in person at select screenings.

      Here’s the synopsis: “The story centers on a magnificent ginkgo tree situated in the heart of a botanical garden within a medieval university town in Germany. This silent observer has witnessed over a hundred years of subtle transformations across three lives. In 2020, a neuroscientist from Hong Kong, studying the minds of infants, initiates an unexpected experiment involving the ancient tree. In 1972, a young student undergoes a profound transformation through the simple act of observing and connecting with a geranium. In 1908, the university’s first female student, through the medium of photography, discovers sacred patterns of the universe hidden within the simplest of plants. Each character is gradually transformed by the quiet, enduring, and enigmatic power of nature, as the ginkgo tree deepens our understanding of humanity.”

      Savina Petkova noted in her review from Venice, “Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi is widely recognized for her 2017 Golden Bear-winning film On Body and Soul, where an unlikely duo meets in a dream and falls in love as deer. This remarkably tender Berlinale prizewinner serves, in many respects, as a forerunner to Enyedi’s latest project, despite The Story of My Wife (2021), a period drama featuring an obsessive love story with Léa Seydoux, being released in between. This does not diminish the latter’s significance: her English-language debut enabled Enyedi to broaden the scope of her unique worlds beyond linguistic boundaries and establish herself as a European auteur who attracts actors. While Silent Friend features the formidable Tony Leung (alongside Seydoux in a smaller role), the true star of the film is the ginkgo tree. If On Body and Soul focused on fauna, Silent Friend shifts its attention to flora.”

      Watch the trailer below: