Silent Friend

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1:56

Silent Friend

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2h 25m

Drama

History

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97%

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32 Reviews

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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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Zachary Barnes

Wall Street Journal

1d

Silent Friend is a film not of environmentalist pleading but of ecological profundity. It gets under our skin by making us ponder the spirit beneath the bark.

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Beatrice Loayza

New York Times

1d

It’s a film of sprawling ideas that float around like pollen, with some particles creating marvelous blooms.

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Bilge Ebiri

New York Magazine/Vulture

2d

It’s an unforgettable film.

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Del Winters

MovieJawn

11h

Silent Friend plants itself on shaky ground

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Michael Nordine

Movie Brief

12h

3/4

A reminder to look closer at the world around us and see what it reveals.

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Todd Jorgenson

Cinemalogue

14h

This visually stunning triptych is a cumulatively profound glimpse into the relationship between humans and nature.

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Giovanni P.

@imgiovanni 7h

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.

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MADELEINE T

@Madalone 12h

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?

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Stephen C

@bob25009 14h

Based on a true story in 2 hours and 25 minutes.

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Ildikó Enyedi

Director

Tony Leung Chiu Wai

Actor

Luna Wedler

Actor

Enzo Brumm

Actor

Sylvester Groth

Actor

Martin Wuttke

Actor

Silent Friend: Trailer 1

1:56

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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