Essential Killing (2010)

Jerzy Skolimowski attended the showing of this film at the London Film Festival to introduce it, although he didn't take questions. He announced that at a retrospective 20 years earlier, he had introduced his film The Adventures of Gerard by telling the audience that it was the worst film he ever made, but that he was in the position today to tell us that Essential Killing was the best film he ever made.

I don't really agree with that statement being a big fan of The Shout and The Lightship, both highly artistic and quirky movies that are unique. Essential Killing certainly has qualities but also some problems.

The movie concerns a Talib fighter (played by Vincent Gallo) who is captured by the Americans in Afghanistan (Israel standing in for Afghanistan) and rendered to a Russian satellite country (probably meant to resemble Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan, but shot in Norway and Poland), where he escapes by chance and attempts to evade capture.

Vincent Gallo's performance is hugely creditable and he probably gets as close to fitting the role as any Western actor could. I was a little worried that the film was becoming a showcase for his acting skills however (or lack of acting skills as I suspect a huge number of his dyed-in-the-wool detractors will call them).

The movie juxtaposes attitudes, Gallo is a fighter, but not a fanatic, he's fighting out of religious duty, and accepts that what he is doing is hateful, but also believes it to be a manifestation of the will of Allah. When he kills someone, it is not him doing the killing, it is Allah. What is terrifying for him is that he's taken out of a milieu that is both comfortable and mystical for him and placed in a Northern winterscape that he can't begin to comprehend. The movie is respectful of Middle Eastern culture and I think often begs the question of what we are doing going there and disturbing their culture, we are as out of place as he becomes.

The attitude of the Americans is very different, coloured by juvenility, a complete lack of sentimentality, and yet a curious professionalism. I remember reading a book about Vietnam called In Pharaoh's Army, and I was thinking during this movie that the soldiers basically amounted to Pharaoh's minions, fulfilling blatant imperialist and expansionist policies, absent entirely of moral authority or purpose. That's the flavour of the film, but the reality is for you to judge.

People have said that the film has amazing cinematography. My view was of competent cinematography and nothing more. Having recently been watching Dziga Vertov movies my standards are probably higher.

My biggest problem with the movie was a scene where the Talib fighter comes across an unlikely food source. It's pure misadventure and makes me wonder just what Skolimowski was thinking when he shot it.

Fmovies: An Afghan POW attempts his escape , but he is captured by the US military in Afghanistan , he is named Mohammed (Vincent Gallo) and is transported to a secret military black site somewhere in the Eastern Europe , being transferred for interrogation (David Price as interrogation officer) at a installation similarly to Guantanamo . When the armed convoy which transports to him suffers a crash accident , Mohammed manages to getaway from his captors , as he escapes across a steep hill, among snowy outdoors and freeze landscapes . Relentlessly chased by an army that officially does not exist, , Monhammed attempts to survive when he finds a countrywoman named Margaret (Emmanuelle Seigner) .

This frenzied movie contains pure action-packed , thriller , suspense , frozen hell and thought-provoking moments . This exciting picture results to be a co-production between Poland|Norway|Ireland| Hungary and deals with an interminable chase in which the protagonist finds himself suddenly free and on the run behind the enemy lines , being relentlessly pursued by American troops on a continent he does not know , that seems to see somewhere in the Eastern Europe . Awesome interpretation by Vincent Gallo as Mohammed , a man who must constantly confront the need to murder in order to survive . Gallo is superb as a real Taliban as physical as playing . Vincent Gallo's role demanded him to do things like walk barefoot on the snow with the temperature reaching minus 30 degrees Celsius. In the breastfeeding scene, Vincent Gallo insisted on getting a real lactating woman for the role. Furthermore , there appears in a secondary role Emmanuelle Seigner , Roman Polanski's muse and wife . While some characters are named in the end credits, no names are used in the film itself . Very good and colorful cinematography by Adam Sikora , showing splendidly hostile, snow blanketed forests and cold landscapes . Emotive and sensitive musical score by Pawel Mykietyn . The motion picture was compellingly directed by the Polish Jerzy Skolimowski . He is a prestigious director, playwright, scriptwriter, painter and actor . And one of the best Polish filmmakers along with Roman Polanski and Andrzej Wajda , both of them are good friends . As Skolimowski has directed good films such as ¨Adventures of Gerard¨ , ¨Deep end¨ , ¨The shout¨, ¨The lightship¨ , ¨Success is the best revenge¨ , ¨Torrents of spring¨ , among others .¨Essential Killing¨ rating : Good , better than average , worthwhile watching .

I saw this film today. While not perfect, it is a very good film. This is about a character that does not want to kill at all, feels horrible about it, but has no other choice. Gallo's performance is his best yet, very convincing and telling. The cinematography is stunning. The music is also quite good, adding more to the tension. (I didn't like the end credits song very much though). It's a very simple story, but it is told well. I appreciate this kind of film, where there is not a great deal of dialogue, just a simple story, good acting, and great photography. I don't need a ton of action, plot twists, subplots, or overindulgent dialogue. So something like Essential Killing is a film I can enjoy. Of course that doesn't mean it's for everyone.

There are a few small weaknesses (I found the ending felt very abrupt - maybe there could have been a way to make it feel less so), but overall I would rate the film an 8.5. It is a compelling, revealing and rewarding experience.

Essential Killing fmovies. All throughout watching "Essential Killing", the movie reminded me of the 1970's movie "Figures in a Landscape"; directed by Joseph Losey and starring Robert Shaw and Malcolm McDowell. Now, when browsing through the external reviews, I notice that Roger Ebert mentions that same film as well, so that means my observations can't be that stupid. Ha, maybe I should go work for the Chicago Sun Times! Anyways, "Figures in a Landscape" is a rather obscure and little known cult gem from the early 70's with a very bizarre narrative structure and substance. The film simply revolves on two escaped convicts nervously running across a desolate area, while chased by a menacing black helicopter and later also by army patrols on foot. All throughout that film, You won't develop any sympathy for the two fugitives - as they commit some truly vile acts along their way – but their journey nevertheless remains fascinating to behold. Well, there you go, Jerzy Skolimowski's new film "Essential Killing" is pretty much exactly like that. The widely acclaimed and professionally offbeat actor Vincent Gallo depicts a nervous Taliban terrorist named Mohammed. That alone is already quite courageous and controversial for an American actor, but Gallo has got several weird title choices in his repertoire. Shortly after his deportation, for murdering three US mariners in Afghanistan with a bazooka, Mohammed manages to escape during the prison transport and the rest of the film illustrates his harsh and devastating to remain at large. Not only does he has to outrun the much better prepared and equipped military forces who are continuously on his tail, he also has to confront a very uneven and hostile landscape without any food or apt clothing. Just like in the aforementioned "Figures in a Landscape", you can't (and I presume you're also not supposed to) develop much feelings of sympathy for the protagonist. After all, he's a Taliban terrorist – something of which we're reminded about occasionally through flashbacks about his training period – and he does kill several innocent people throughout his escape attempt. Killing that are essential for him to remain in freedom, hence the title. Obviously "Essential Killing" isn't the type of which you can say you enjoyed the viewing. The subject matter is dead serious, the narrative wants you to remain objective throughout and our lead actor doesn't have a single line of monologue or thoughts. Nonetheless this film is worth checking out, especially for the more demanding type of cinema fanatic, for various other reasons. First and foremost, there's Vincent Gallo's undeniably impressive performance. His role is both physically and mentally exhausting and you can clearly see that none of his emotions are staged, including the fatigue, famish and agony. How many actors, who have already achieved a certain status, do you know will be eager to do stuff like walk barefoot through the snow with a temperature reaching minus 30 degrees Celsius? The enchanting Emmanuelle Seigner receives second billing, but her role is limited to a small chapter near the end of the movie. The film itself is very absorbing, even without Gallo's tour-de-force performance. Every shot, every inch of the landscape seems precisely measured and re-considered at least a dozen times before featuring in the film. The choreography is simply wonderful and the locations – apparently a mixture between Polish and Norwegian – are almost continuou

You hardly get a good, lasting impression from low budget movies nowadays, so this title, in my view, stands out as a really original and, for that matter, quite an important one. The Polish film makers have really outdone themselves. Of course, at the beginning of the picture I was not confident about it, but after a while it gets decently impressive minute by minute. The movie itself is about war's effect on the humanity and life of one person. How it changes his life forever. But the presentation of this idea is absolutely unique for it's 'fresh vantage point'.I mean there are many movies about war and it's effects and consequences, so you cannot refuse to not praise the filmmakers for the success of the originality of this picture, due to the different point of view towards the subject. Everything in this film was unquestionably fine for me up until the ending. I felt that this ending was unfair. The result COULD have been different. But then, I guess, the ideas in this movie would, in a way, loose their meaning. This point IS argumentative. Concequentaly, the whole plot is decent and the ending... Well, I supposed, It depends on the person watching. The acting by Vincent Gallo is quite impressive. His performance is entertaining enough to keep the audience watching. And everything else is without flaws too. The soundtracks are decent, quite impressive actually for a low budget film. The camera-work is quite picturesque. Practically flawless. Seeing this movie will not disappoint and will leave a memorable impression.

Vincent Gallo stars as a confused, lonesome Taliban fighter in this survival film, perhaps a spiritual successor to the old Nils Gaup film 'The Pathfinder' (not the remake). An unnamed fighter is captured by Americans, extradited to a base inn a Russian-speaking country, then escapes, and spends the most part of the film chased by Americans in helicopters or patrols of dogs. It's refreshing to see Americans portrayed through the eyes of a Taliban fighter; with their superior technology and almost infantile attitudes they seem quite like aliens. The fighter is ever troubled by the killing he has to do in order to survive, as he struggles through a bleak wintery landscape (shot in Norway and Poland), searching for food, clothes and shelter. This is a film about the human condition rather than a political one, in some respects it has a classic chase plot but with minimal dialogue a dream-like feel. The strangeness of it all made me intrigued; here is a Taliban fighter chased by rather alien Americans surrounded by hapless Russian-speaking farmers or foresters. This slightly unreal quality is the film's strength, also parallel to the man's sand-coloured 'dream-visions' of his homeland and imagery of a woman (whose face we never see) and images of his family.

The cinematography and use of colour contrasted against the pale winter landscape is stunning. The plot isn't entirely believable, and takes you through some pretty unlikely twists and turns, but nevertheless this is more existentialist than realist, and Vincent Gallo pulls off the non-speaking part with a humbling and convincing performance.