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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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100% Tomatometer 29 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

Critics Reviews

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Zachary Barnes Wall Street Journal 12h
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. Go to Full Review Beatrice Loayza New York Times 16h
It’s a film of sprawling ideas that float around like pollen, with some particles creating marvelous blooms. Go to Full Review Bilge Ebiri New York Magazine/Vulture 1d
It’s an unforgettable film. Go to Full Review Al Alexander Movies Thru the Spectrum 15h
B+
Enyedi engenders in us a greater respect for the plant kingdom and a wild new curiosity about its potential to communicate love and eroticism. Go to Full Review Avi Offer NYC Movie Guru 4d
A thought-provoking, quietly moving and poetic film with shades of Carlos Reygadas. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
Silent Friend

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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

Silent Friend: Trailer 1 Silent Friend: Trailer 1 1:56 View more videos
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Silent Friend

Silent Friend (2025) View more photos

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