skip to main |
skip to sidebar
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
Multiple language, including English.
Vincent Gallo stars in this thriller by Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski.
Afghan soldier Mohammed (Gallo) is taken prisoner by American forces after killing three American soldiers. He is transferred to a detention centre in an unspecified eastern European country for interrogation, but manages to escape his captors.
Now, as an escaped convict in a hostile and unknown country, Mohammed is forced to take extreme measures in order to survive.
Film: Essential Killing
Release date: 1st April 2011
Certificate: TBC
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
Film: The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Release date: 9th June 2008
Certificate: 12
Running time: 112 mins
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny, Patrick Chesnais
Genre: Biography/Drama
Studio: Pathe!
Format: DVD
Country: France/USA
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly is the true story of Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), who suffered a crippling stroke leaving him entirely paralysed except for the motor functions of his left eye. His mind, the butterfly, is trapped within the body, the diving bell - the film is giving a poetic voice to that butterfly, based on the book he wrote whilst in hospital without being able to physically write himself.
The film is a personal tale of the enduring human spirit in spite of devastating adversity, as it follows the inner monologue of Bauby coming to terms with his physical prison. He is a man who is helpless to speak or react to anyone, which proves extremely difficult for everyone he once knew, including his wife (Emmanuelle Seigner), children and mistress.
Bauby’s prison, however, slowly erodes as he learns to speak through the blinking of his left eye, which, utilising the help of the nurse (Marie-Joseé Croze), aids him to write the book that inspired the film. It is entirely gripping, humorous but also deeply emotive, as Bauby’s words that no-one can hear are screaming for a voice…
Despite the prison that Bauby is caged within, the film is as free as his mind, with metaphors and symbolism as explicit as the heartbreaking reality of his situation. Julian Schnabel did a superb and sensitive job in directing Mathieu Amalric, despite Amalric having to learn French for the film, and his eye being the only outlet for his visual talent. His onscreen presence shifts between the self important Elle editor to loving father, and finally to a passionate fragility, as the time frame shifts from past to present.
Visually, the film really excels. Schnabel claims the film is about different ways of seeing, and, by his own admission, used his own glasses over the lens to create the unique point of view of Bauby‘s. Latex was used to simulate the view of an eye being sewn up in a particularly memorable few minutes of the film, but it’s the moments of random eye movement that seemingly sum up the film’s personal feel. The audience is dragged through the iris of Bauby as he makes sense of his all too familiar surroundings again and again, as the film’s seductive focal points add up to a portrait of frustrating incarcerating disability.
Although Bauby is unable to communicate with others, the dialogue of others is as natural and as real as exchanges suited to reality. Some characters struggle to adjust their speech to their now paralysed friend, whilst others struggle talk at all – there is an extremely heart wrenching exchange between house-bound father and paralysed son.
Structurally, the timeline is succinct with Bauby’s own regrets with moments in his life - he cannot seem to let go, as the symbolic injection of Schnabel suggests. The symbolism of Bauby’s sinking body is contrasted by his free roaming imagination, which is packed with lust, love and vast emotional landscapes. The truth of the film really hits hardest at the end, as despite the fact that Amalric is acting; his delicate portrayal of Bauby only shows a glimmer of what a destructive force a stroke is on everyone involved.
It is, however, through the exploration of delicate relationships, with the seemingly lifeless, that strike the loudest chord. Bauby is witty and flirtatious for the audience only, but for the characters onscreen he is a shadow of his former self, despite, within his diving bell, finding a new meaning to life. The captivating and consistent caring nurse highlights that humanity is still within reach. She is hurt by his revelations of wanting to die. The writer (Anne Consigny) is a character that develops through her experience, as she has had no relations with Bauby prior and yet, is ultimately, the closest person to him, after aiding him write his book, who is just as moved as the audience by his poetic revelations.
Other moments highlight the tireless conflict - an awkward exchange between Bauby’s ex-wife and his mistress creates an unbearable tension which is then lifted by the heart-warming attempts of Bauby’s friend (Isaak De Bankole) to read to him. These moments make the film uplifting, yet also devastatingly poignant.
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly supplies that shred of real humanity that many films fail to attain as it explores the vast depths people will go for others. The over-bearing lows are met with the soul searching highs proving this film to be one of the most explorative in terms of disability, and especially of vast change that all people, no matter the circumstances, will experience. AE
