Essential Killing (2010)

85% of critics liked it
(33 reviews)
48% of users liked it
(1,864 ratings)

A soldier must fight for his own survival as well as the cause of his people in this powerful drama from acclaimed Polish filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski. A pair of American security operatives (Zach Cohen and Iftach Ofir) are on patrol in Afghanistan when they stumble upon a Taliban fighter (Vincent… More A soldier must fight for his own survival as well as the cause of his people in this powerful drama from acclaimed Polish filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski. A pair of American security operatives (Zach Cohen and Iftach Ofir) are on patrol in Afghanistan when they stumble upon a Taliban fighter (Vincent Gallo), who kills them despite his terror and nervousness. While trying to escape, the Afghan is captured by American forces; he's tortured during interrogation, but doesn't tell the Americans anything, in part because an explosion has made it difficult for him to hear what they're saying. The Americans ship the Afghan off to a detention facility with a number of other Taliban soldiers, but upon arrival he's able to escape. However, the Afghan finds himself in a forbidding snowbound climate, and with no provisions or warm clothing he struggles to simply survive as he avoids his pursuers and struggles to find some way to get home. Shot with very little dialogue (and almost none delivered by leading man Gallo), Essential Killing received its North American premiere at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 23 min.
Directed By: Jerzy Skolimowski
Genres: Mystery & Suspense

On DVD: Jan 24, 2012
Studio: HanWay Films

Critic Reviews

Richard Brody, New Yorker
Under the guise of current events, Skolimowski artfully conjures an elemental archetype of human life itself. In English, Polish, and Arabic.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Stripped of its political vestments, Essential Killing is a chase film almost existential in its rawness and virtually silent in its unfolding -- just a pursued man reduced by circumstance to a primitive state.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
View it as an existential thriller illustrating how violence begets violence.
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
The movie deftly shifts from its initial chase thriller mode to a grueling, offbeat tale of human survival.
Budd Wilkins, Slant Magazine
Stark and stripped-down, Jerzy Skolomowski's Essential Killing is a fatalistic fable eschewing the political in favor of the existential, now available in a fittingly barebones DVD package from New Video.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
What is striking about it, of course, is the way that the filmmaker manages to garner sympathy for an essential villain.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
An astonishingly dull piece of work...
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
Gallo's humanity is reduced to its naked essence
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
On its surface, "Essential Killing" is a chase and survival thriller, but through his protagonist's actions, first in war, then for survival, and ultimately through his ironic ending, Skolimowski couldn't be clearer in his political intent.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
...a unique film in concept and execution. Brief moments of action are interspersed with Mohammed's struggle to survive the elements, hunger and a pursuing enemy.
Graham Young, Birmingham Post
Although in terms of its core elements, Essential Killing feels as familiar as any standard Hollywood chase movie, from the Bourne and Rambo series to The Fugitive, Skolimowski ensures this is a wholly different kind of experience.
Dan Fainaru, Screen International
Whatever narrative shortcomings the picture might have, as a parable of these days it is certainly serviceable, though a bit too ambivalent for comfort. Visually, however, it is never less than stunning.
Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
Gallo does his best acting work since appearing in his own directorial debut Buffalo 66 13 years ago.
Tony Rayns, Sight and Sound
Essential Killing would be much less powerful if it didn't show the jihadi's physical sufferings with such visceral immediacy, and if the realism weren't strong enough to deliver surrealist shocks like the staggering final image.
Philip French, Guardian [UK]
Essential Killing is something of a comeback, if a relatively minor one.
Catherine Bray, Film4
An arresting snow-bound oddity concerning a character you can't care for and yet feel compelled to watch.
Robbie Collin, News of the World
The film's nowhere near as clever as it thinks it is. Gallo starts as an extremist nutjob, killing for his beliefs - but turns into a hungry maniac, killing to stay on the run. Does the film draw a fascinating comparison between the two? No.
Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
The minimalism feels a bit affected, but as a near-abstract rumination on war and survival, it has a certain stark potency.
David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]
An abstract chase movie inspired by the war on terror, it starts well but fades into irrelevance.
Anthony Quinn, Independent
It could almost have been made as a silent movie, which is a credit both to Gallo's performance and Skolimowski's pared-down storytelling.

Read all 22 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Doctor S

An endurance test, for both the main character and the audience. I didn't care for this film exercise without any real plot, hardly any dialogue, and often glacial pacing. Vincent Gallo deserves recognition for putting himself through the wringer, but I watched this because of… More
An endurance test, for both the main character and the audience. I didn't care for this film exercise without any real plot, hardly any dialogue, and often glacial pacing. Vincent Gallo deserves recognition for putting himself through the wringer, but I watched this because of Emmanuelle Seigner's prominent placement in the credits, so imagine my disappointment when she doesn't show up until the thing is almost over - and she's a deaf/mute!
Stephen E

While not immediately involving or interesting, "Essential Killing" is taut and well-directed, and Vincent Gallo is brilliant in his wordless role. The deliberate pace may prove agonizing for some, but I enjoyed "Essential Killing." Sure, it's nothing to write… More
While not immediately involving or interesting, "Essential Killing" is taut and well-directed, and Vincent Gallo is brilliant in his wordless role. The deliberate pace may prove agonizing for some, but I enjoyed "Essential Killing." Sure, it's nothing to write home about, but there are some well-made moments. It's got enough entertainment value to earn my recommendation.