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
- 15 wins & 9 nominations total
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
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.
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.
- ExploringFilm
- Nov 2, 2010
- 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
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content