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Silent Friend

Play trailer Silent Friend 2025 2h 25m Biography Drama History Play Trailer Watchlist
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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.

Critics Reviews

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Leila Latif IndieWire Tony Leung Again Proves Why He’s One of the Greats Rated: B Sep 10, 2025 Full Review Jonathan Romney Screen International While the three sections don’t tie up narratively, nor strictly conclude as such, they leave plenty of ideas in their wake -- and a multitude of entrancing images. Sep 5, 2025 Full Review Guy Lodge Variety With an outlook disarmingly poised between the dreamy and the matter-of-fact, it presents a different way of seeing, and indeed feeling, the world around us, and merely invites its audience to follow along. Sep 5, 2025 Full Review Sarah Manvel Movies We Texted About At its core this movie is about what it takes to make a breakthrough, whether scientific or artistic. The answer here is amiable isolation, whether by choice or by circumstance, combined with access to the technology that enables thought to become form. Oct 2, 2025 Full Review Pat Mullen That Shelf As with all experiments, Silent Friend features a fair degree of trial and error. But when it succeeds with its formula, it unearths a film of great emotional intelligence. It's a richly layered work from one of cinema’s most fearlessly original talents. Sep 19, 2025 Full Review Rita Di Santo Morning Star (UK) Silent Friend is a testament to film-making’s art, transcending language and cultural boundaries. A film that touches hearts and minds. Rated: 10/10 Sep 10, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

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Ildikó Enyedi

Director

Tony Leung Chiu Wai

Actor

Luna Wedler

Actor

Enzo Brumm

Actor

Sylvester Groth

Actor

Martin Wuttke

Actor
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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
Production Co
Pandora Film, Inforg-M&M Film, Galatée Films, Rediance
Genre
Biography, Drama, History
Original Language
German
Runtime
2h 25m