A Tree Grows in Marburg in “Silent Friend”

In Ildikó Enyedi’s meditative nature epic, three lonely experimenters from three different eras seek to unlock the secrets of plants—and learn something vital about themselves.

By Justin Chang

May 8, 2026

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New Yorker Favorites

A scientist with a Ph.D. from Harvard fatally shot three of her colleagues. Then revelations about her family history came to light.
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Justin Chang is a film critic at The New Yorker.

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