Essential Killing
- 2010
- 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
8.2K
YOUR RATING
An Afghan POW attempts his escape.An Afghan POW attempts his escape.An Afghan POW attempts his escape.
- Awards
- 14 wins & 9 nominations
David L. Price
- Interrogation Officer
- (as David Price)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe movie never reveals what part of the world Mohammed has been taken to. But the coordinates given by a helicopter crew, 53 39 N 25 33 E, is located in a heavily wooded area of northwest Belarus.
- GoofsAfter Mohammed falls in the water he climbs out of the lake. However, in the following scene with the dog he seems dry.
- ConnectionsFeatured in At the Movies: Venice Film Festival 2010 (2010)
- SoundtracksMie Toleruje - Bije
Music written by Rafal Modlinski, Karol Ludew, Piotr Leniewicz and Adam Adamczyk
Performed by Moja Adrenalina
Featured review
I can't say that 'Essential Killing' is essential viewing. It's about a man named Mohammed (Vincent Gallo), a terrorist on the run from the US army in Afghanistan. Mohammed is captured and detained in a Guantanamo Bay facsimile, where he is given the treatment we've all read about. But en route to being transferred, perhaps extradited, the car he's in crashes on the snowy roads of Poland where he makes good his escape. The rest of the film is a chase.
One thing the film tries to do is humanise Mohammed. Recurring visions of his unveiled wife and child, and excerpts from the Koran, influence us into believing that Mohammed himself isn't a threat, but the fascistic ideology he subscribes to is ('Allah killed those men', his thought-process reassures him after he's killed a number of innocents).
Watching this film I kept wondering if Gallo was the right choice. I won't say it would have been better for a Middle-Easterner to play Mohammed because that would betray the very idea of acting. But one thing's for sure: Gallo doesn't convince as an Afghan.
There are too many conveniences. Mohammed is rendered deaf by an explosion, so can't respond to people. (Would it have been that difficult to learn a few words of Pashto?). It's apocryphal that he'd be such an efficient killer in his emaciated condition. And would being attacked by feral dogs, caught in a bear trap, crushed by a tree, starved and submerged in sub-zero waters not be enough to kill you? Apparently not mighty Mohammed.
The disjointed score is a distraction. Clearly that's the point, but it would have made what little suspense there is no less palpable to have no soundtrack at all. Director Jerzy Skolimowski might have realised from the absence of dialogue that silence is often the loudest noise.
It's a demanding role physically, and Gallo gives an almost animalistic portrayal of a man whose only dilemma is kill or be killed. What's both good and bad is that Gallo doesn't appear to be acting. The film features a few harrowing scenes, including one where Gallo, desperate for nourishment, sucks the milk from a pregnant woman's breast while she's breastfeeding her child. I'm sure I've never seen anything quite as grotesque. If any actor was going to do that, it'd have to be him.
www.scottishreview.net
One thing the film tries to do is humanise Mohammed. Recurring visions of his unveiled wife and child, and excerpts from the Koran, influence us into believing that Mohammed himself isn't a threat, but the fascistic ideology he subscribes to is ('Allah killed those men', his thought-process reassures him after he's killed a number of innocents).
Watching this film I kept wondering if Gallo was the right choice. I won't say it would have been better for a Middle-Easterner to play Mohammed because that would betray the very idea of acting. But one thing's for sure: Gallo doesn't convince as an Afghan.
There are too many conveniences. Mohammed is rendered deaf by an explosion, so can't respond to people. (Would it have been that difficult to learn a few words of Pashto?). It's apocryphal that he'd be such an efficient killer in his emaciated condition. And would being attacked by feral dogs, caught in a bear trap, crushed by a tree, starved and submerged in sub-zero waters not be enough to kill you? Apparently not mighty Mohammed.
The disjointed score is a distraction. Clearly that's the point, but it would have made what little suspense there is no less palpable to have no soundtrack at all. Director Jerzy Skolimowski might have realised from the absence of dialogue that silence is often the loudest noise.
It's a demanding role physically, and Gallo gives an almost animalistic portrayal of a man whose only dilemma is kill or be killed. What's both good and bad is that Gallo doesn't appear to be acting. The film features a few harrowing scenes, including one where Gallo, desperate for nourishment, sucks the milk from a pregnant woman's breast while she's breastfeeding her child. I'm sure I've never seen anything quite as grotesque. If any actor was going to do that, it'd have to be him.
www.scottishreview.net
- dharmendrasingh
- Apr 29, 2011
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Essence
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- €3,167,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $490,320
- Runtime1 hour 23 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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