REVIEW: Cinema Release: Essential Killing

Film: Essential Killing
Release date: 1st April 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 84 mins
Director: Jerzy Skolimowski
Starring: Vincent Gallo, Emmanuelle Seigner, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Stig Frode Henriksen, David L. Price
Genre: Thriller/War
Studio: Artificial Eye
Format: Cinema
Country: Poland/Norway/Republic of Ireland/Hungary

“If survival is essential, one might have no choice but to kill.” So states director Skolimowski, describing the journey of Mohammed, a man who has managed to escape the American military, as he runs for his life across a frozen, foreign land.

After killing three American troops, a (probable) insurgent in Afghanistan is captured, shaved, interrogated, waterboarded, beaten, bound, blindfolded and extradited to an ambiguous Eastern European country.

When the truck he is being transported in crashes, he seizes the opportunity to escape, running for his life from his American captors. Doing everything that is required of him to survive, he is forced to eat what he can scavenge, and even kill to evade his pursuers…


Essential Killing was in competition at the 2010 67th Venice International Film Festival with, amongst others, Black Swan. Interestingly, it has parallels to the ballet film; once events are set in motion, there is no let up for the viewer who is taken along, helpless, never leaving the main protagonist’s side. The truck he is in crashes, and he escapes, only to soon realize that his situation is hopeless – he has no shoes, no warm clothing, no food, no water and no idea where he is. Returning to the scene to give himself up, he finds the crash site deserted, save for two soldiers. Stealing a gun, Mohammed shoots them both and steals their vehicle and clothing. Chased by man, dog and helicopter, he is forced to (reluctantly) stab a dog to death, steals the white fatigues of a fallen pursuer and head off deeper into the woods. Eating insects and berries and struggling to stay alive in the bitter cold, he lapses into visions of his life, his family, his wife and perhaps a premonition of his future death.

There is an image about a third of the way in to Essential Killing that could have been lifted straight out of a Disney animated feature. Injured and scared, a lone figure tracks on the virgin tundra between two huge peaks as the sun sets in the distance. It’s a glorious picture to gaze at, almost as though it were painted, and all the more so given that this is virtually a silent movie that thus relies more than most on the visual. There is almost no dialogue; Gallo utters not a single word and the only other character of note is deaf/mute.

Skolimowski’s use of Vincent Gallo was meant to be as ambiguous as the locations depicted and the names not used. We only learn Mohammed’s name in the end titles, we’re left to presume that the opening scenes in a desert locale are set in Afghanistan (they are, but actually shot near the Dead Sea in Israel) and the bulk of the film depicting Gallo’s flight across a frozen woodland could be anywhere (actually filmed in both Poland and Norway). Skolimowski has stated that he has no interest in politics and that the film “is not a commentary on America or Afghanistan.” His desire was to pare to the bone what it means to be a man, and what man is capable of, both in how he behaves toward his fellow brother, as well as in terms of survival, and in this he succeeds admirably. The wintry landscape is depicted as a cold black-and-white, with splashes of crimson coming from spilled blood, and the sound design puts you in Mohammed’s head as we hear what he hears. Mimicking the almost non-existent dialogue, there is almost no soundtrack to speak of, which only heightens the sense of isolation and bewilderment this man must feel in so utterly alien a place.

There are some misfires. A shocking scene involving a breastfeeding woman seems to have been included only to, well, shock, and the death of a woodsman at our protagonists’ hands could have been handled better. There is also some marvelous serendipity allowing Mohammed to continue his journey, a Hollywood convention that jars somewhat with the tone. But these aren’t major quibbles. It is hard not to sympathize and, yes, root for this chased man. It’s what cinema has taught us to do after all. And that may rankle with some viewers. But it really shouldn’t for, taken for what it is and what it is meant to be, Essential Killing is a tour de force from one the of most seasoned of filmmakers (he’s been both acting and directing since 1960, and co-wrote Knife In The Water with Polanski).

It won the Special Jury prize at Venice and Gallo won Best Actor. Truculent as ever, he remained hidden in the audience as his director picked up the awards.


A frenetic, fast-paced chase movie that’s meant to thrill you, not make you think. And that’s a good thing sometimes. JMB