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Silent Friend

Play trailer 1:56 Poster for Silent Friend Now Playing,  2h 25m,  Drama/ History Play Trailer Watchlist
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Watchlist 98% 43 Reviews Tomatometer - - Fewer than 50 Ratings Popcornmeter
98% Tomatometer 43 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
In the heart of a botanical garden in a medieval university town in Germany stands a majestic ginkgo tree. This silent witness has observed over a century the quiet rhythms of transformation across three human lives. 2020, a neuroscientist from Hong Kong, exploring the mind of babies, begins an unexpected experiment with the old tree. 1972, a young student is profoundly changed by the simple act of observing and connecting with a geranium. 1908, the university’s first female student discovers, through the lens of photography, sacred patterns of the universe hidden within the humblest of plants. We follow their clumsy, awkward attempts to connect -- each one of them deeply rooted in their own present - as they are transformed by the quiet, enduring, and mysterious power of nature. The ancient ginkgo tree brings us closer to what it means to be human -- to our longing to belong.

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Silent Friend

Silent Friend

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Surveying the natural world and the people who wander through it with generous empathy, Silent Friend is one of writer-director Idikó Enyedi's most lyrical and profound efforts yet.

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Critics Reviews

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Jordan Mintzer The Hollywood Reporter 1d
Enyedi is a master stylist who knows how to create a certain mood, mixing visual poetry with deadpan humor, and big ideas with quotidian foibles, in a film that explores our mysterious relationship with both the green world and one another. Go to Full Review
Randy Myers San Jose Mercury News 1d
3/5
There’s much to admire and to revel in up onscreen. Go to Full Review
Clint Worthington RogerEbert.com 2d
4/4
To expect answers, ’Silent Friend' argues, is folly. Just immerse yourself in the curiosity. Go to Full Review
Javier Ocaña El Pais (Spain) 3h
Enyedi...crafts something genuinely unusual here, even if, inevitably, the lack of concrete conclusions may leave some viewers frustrated. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Roberto Tyler Ortiz Geek Vibes Nation 8h
8/10
Silent Friend is poetic without becoming self-indulgent, intellectually ambitious without losing emotional sincerity. Go to Full Review
Alice Shih Original Cin 11h
A
Enyedi gripping drama, beautifully and inventively shot by cinematographer Gergely Pálos, tells audiences how important it is to slow down, connect and comprehend, especially when another party does not seem to be readily communicable. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Giovanni P. @imgiovanni May 8 A stunningly beautiful and meticulously well made film. Tony Leung draws you into his world in one of the most intelligent and compelling performances of the year. See more MADELEINE T @Madalone May 8 If you enjoy sprawling out in a field and watching and listening to the grass grow, you will like this film. Silent Friend is a slow moving tale about lonely people yearning to merge with spiritus mundi. I have given it five stars because living in a hi tech, concrete and steel world, it is comforting to muse upon living as one with the natural world. There was some silliness at the very end, but, how do you end the infinite? See more Stephen C @bob25009 May 8 Based on a true story in 2 hours and 25 minutes. Read all reviews
Silent Friend

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the heart of a botanical garden in a medieval university town in Germany stands a majestic ginkgo tree. This silent witness has observed over a century the quiet rhythms of transformation across three human lives. 2020, a neuroscientist from Hong Kong, exploring the mind of babies, begins an unexpected experiment with the old tree. 1972, a young student is profoundly changed by the simple act of observing and connecting with a geranium. 1908, the university’s first female student discovers, through the lens of photography, sacred patterns of the universe hidden within the humblest of plants. We follow their clumsy, awkward attempts to connect -- each one of them deeply rooted in their own present - as they are transformed by the quiet, enduring, and mysterious power of nature. The ancient ginkgo tree brings us closer to what it means to be human -- to our longing to belong.
Director
Ildikó Enyedi
Producer
Reinhard Brundig, Mónika Mécs, Nicolas Elghozi, Meng Xie
Screenwriter
Ildikó Enyedi
Distributor
1-2 Special
Production Co
Pandora Film, Inforg-M&M Film, Galatée Films, Rediance
Genre
Drama, History
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
May 8, 2026, Limited
Runtime
2h 25m

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