A Ginkgo Tree Threads the Narrative of "Silent Friend"

"Grete (Luna Wedler), an aspiring botanist who, in 1908, becomes the first woman admitted to Marburg University, in Germany—an honor granted, begrudgingly, by an all-male panel of professors. Then again, the protagonist might be Hannes (Enzo Brumm), a former farm boy studying at the same school in 1972. His is a more enlightened era, but Hannes, lonely and withdrawn, doesn't share his classmates' interest in campus sit-ins and free love."

"Enyedi is temperamentally drawn to misfits and outsiders, which brings us to our third and fourth potential protagonists: each one a handsome, commandingly elegant figure, native to East Asia, now transposed to European soil. I am referring first to Tony Wong, a Hong Kong-based neuroscientist who arrives at Marburg as a visiting professor circa 2020; he's played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai, the smoldering star of the art-house dramas " In the Mood for Love" (2001), "Happy Together" (1997), and " Lust, Caution " (2007)."

"But I am also referring to a majestic ginkgo tree that was planted on the Marburg campus in 1832, and which is the only character old enough to figure in all three of the film's narratives. The tree, which graces a botanical garden, bears patient witness to all manner of human clumsiness. It stands there, stoic and uncomplaining, when Tony, unaccustomed to the local delicacies, pukes all over its roots during a postprandial walk."

"Later (but actually earlier), the tree provides Grete with a moment's shade on her cigarette break. In both instances, the characters don't notice the harm they're"

Grete, a lonely aspiring botanist in 1908, becomes the first woman admitted to Marburg University despite an all-male panel. Hannes, a withdrawn former farm boy studying there in 1972, avoids campus activism and free love. Around 2020, Tony Wong, a Hong Kong-based neuroscientist visiting Marburg, is also isolated and out of place. A ginkgo tree planted on campus in 1832 serves as a constant presence across all narratives, witnessing human mistakes without complaint. The tree provides shade for Grete’s cigarette break and later suffers when Tony vomits on its roots, showing how harm can occur unnoticed while people pursue understanding of plants and themselves.

Read at The New Yorker