Film Review: SILENT FRIEND (2025): Ildikó Enyedi’s Beautifully Constructed Dramatic Film Will Wow Viewers

Silent Friend Review

Silent Friend (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Ildikó Enyedi, written by Tina Kaiser, Ildikó Enyedi and Corinne Le Hong and starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Luna Wedler, Enzo Brumm, Léa Seydoux, Sylvester Groth, Yun Huang, Luca Valentini, Rainer Bock, Marlene Burow and Martin Wuttke.

Filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi has crafted one of the most fascinating films of the year with the masterfully directed, Silent Friend. This is a delicately constructed film with three different subplots that interweave several different characters together in such a way that the results are absolutely unforgettable.

This film is anchored by the great performance by Tony Leung Chiu-wai who plays an older man named Tony. This character must deal with the pandemic and finds himself residing around a German university where no students are present due to the fear of COVID-19. He finds comfort in a ginkgo tree that has great significance to the themes that this film presents in a way that will be reminiscent of the work of great directors such as Terrence Malick.

Silent Friend has many connecting characters such as Grete, the one played by Luna Wedler. Set in 1908, these scenes featuring Grete are filmed in glorious black and white and bring to life Grete’s academic intelligence as she sits in front of a committee of male professors who judge everything she says while looking for a reason to dismiss her theories and talents in botany studies. Grete is a force to contend with and played with terrific depth by Wedler, she is a stand-out character in the movie who makes the audience sympathize with her predicament as she tries to prove herself as a worthy assistant in male-dominated field and world.

There are also sequences set in the early 1970’s where Hannes (Enzo Brumm) falls for a young girl named Gundula (Marlene Burow). Gundula’s geranium, which sits on her windowsill, needs a lot of attention and the earnest Hannes is more than up to the task of caring for the plant when Gundula leaves the vicinity for a bit. Hannes puts his heart into caring for the geranium, even going so far as to entertain it and keep it alive at any risk. He may even jeopardize his friendships in the name of caring for the plant.

In the interim, Tony speaks to a consultant named Alice (the always wonderful Léa Seydoux) who has a three-year old kid and can only help him understand the complexity of plants so much. Alice is heartfelt in terms of the way she connects with Tony who wants to get into the school’s lab to do some research of his own. Tony also must deal with a complaint filed against him and a local man named Anton (the solid Sylvester Groth) who doesn’t seem to understand Tony’s routines and obsessions – well not at first anyway.

AS Grete finds a focus on photography and Hannes becomes more obsessed with the geranium than he was with Gundula, both of these characters grow significantly over the course of the nearly two and a half hour picture. The last shot of the tree that fascinates Tony so much concludes the film and is one of the most haunting shots of the year. It leaves an impression on the viewer that will haunt audiences long after the end credits roll.

Plants and trees are our silent friends and it’s fascinating how they survive in the world. Alice even sends Tony some plant sperm to help him in his quest to keep the beauty of it all going. The performance by Tony Leung Chiu-wai is layered and heartfelt as his character suffers from being misunderstood in regards to his perception of the events surrounding him. When Anton emulates Tony, one can fully understand the reason Tony does his meditation and stays focused on his fascination with the minute details that surround the tree he finds so much comfort in.

Wedler delivers an equally compelling turn as a woman dealing with sexism and the inability to understand where she fits in. Grete knows that she has much to offer the world and strives to find a way to adequately share her unique talents with those around her. Wedler is a rising young actress who never hits a false note in a deeply moving performance that is nothing short of amazing to behold for all its attention to detail.

In the less showy role, Enzo Brumm is quite humorous and his character creates a nicely orchestrated bond with Burow’s own well-written character. Silent Friend is not just about the performances. It’s also about the mysteries of life and how the human spirit can triumph during times in which the world tries to suppress it, either through sexism, misunderstandings or even through the pandemic itself.

Silent Friend is a work of art quite unlike any other. Directed with a true appreciation for the wonder of plants and trees as well as a genuine understanding of the human condition, this affecting and delicate film will leave the audience in awe. It unveils its plot slowly as the mysteries of life fascinate and stimulate the characters, simultaneously. This is a true piece of cinematic artistry that should not be missed.

Rating: 8.5/10

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