SILENT FRIEND

A mighty gingko tree in a German university town witnesses the intertwined lives of three generations. In 1908, a pioneering botanist becomes the institution’s first female student. In 1972, two classmates bond over a geranium in politically charged times. In 2020, a lonely neuroscientist (Leung Chiu-wai), stuck on campus, seeks meaning from the tree’s electromagnetic signals under the guidance of a French biologist (Seydoux). Returning in resplendent form, Ildikó Enyedi crafts a perceptive, time-spanning exploration of humanity’s enduring connection to nature.