Essential Killing

You've rarely seen a movie like Jerzy Skolimowski's "Essential Killing". Vincent Gallo (of "Buffalo '66") plays an escaped POW from Afghanistan who roams the European countryside in midwinter hoping to be able to survive in this unfamiliar setting. The absence of dialogue - except for a few lines - gives the film an especially surreal feel. There's no particular political message. The message is: when you're on your own, you'd better have your wits about you.

This is the first Skolimowski movie that I've seen. I'm impressed. I hope to be able to see more of his movies. In the mean time, I recommend this one.

Also starring Emmanuelle Seigner (Roman Polanski's wife).

Refreshingly unlike a lot of Hollywood's products where one is fed the director's opinion and invited to swallow it whole. Here a simple story is told without the usual, clearly identified good and bad characters. We watch a story thread its course and are invited to decide for ourselves who, if anyone, is guilty or innocent. Mahommed, the main character, could easily have been portrayed as the stereotypical Jihadist instead he is depicted as frightened and confused which one would suppose are the normal reactions to the situation he finds himself in. It is set in stark but beautiful environments and one can vividly feel the pain and deprivation which is depicted in a most understated manner. This film is different, it is in a league of its own and will be appreciated by anyone with a mind of their own - essential viewing for those who don't.

I was not sure where this film was going to go with the story line at hand, was it to be another horror story about the violence of war? It was just a bit hard to work out after watching the trailer on YouTube, as things can look misleading.

But I was glad to see it was not all about blood and gut's, no Rambo style shoot me up type of film, sure there are parts with violence, but it is not the main focus of the storyline, and it put another spin on the way I looked at the war's that are being fought in the Middle East.

And by not giving to much away from this solid film, it is about a fish out of water, but seen from the other side of the fence. It made me think about the conflict of war in a different way. Apparently Jack Nicholson stated, so far it was the best film of year, I am not sure about that, but the film made me think about the madness of the world we live in.

Rock solid 8 out of 10, and could some one tell me the name of the music at the end of the film.

An Afghan POW attempts his escape , but he is captured by the US military in Afghanistan , he is named Mohammed (Vincent Gallo) and is transported to a secret military black site somewhere in the Eastern Europe , being transferred for interrogation (David Price as interrogation officer) at a installation similarly to Guantanamo . When the armed convoy which transports to him suffers a crash accident , Mohammed manages to getaway from his captors , as he escapes across a steep hill, among snowy outdoors and freeze landscapes . Relentlessly chased by an army that officially does not exist, , Monhammed attempts to survive when he finds a countrywoman named Margaret (Emmanuelle Seigner) .

This frenzied movie contains pure action-packed , thriller , suspense , frozen hell and thought-provoking moments . This exciting picture results to be a co-production between Poland|Norway|Ireland| Hungary and deals with an interminable chase in which the protagonist finds himself suddenly free and on the run behind the enemy lines , being relentlessly pursued by American troops on a continent he does not know , that seems to see somewhere in the Eastern Europe . Awesome interpretation by Vincent Gallo as Mohammed , a man who must constantly confront the need to murder in order to survive . Gallo is superb as a real Taliban as physical as playing . Vincent Gallo's role demanded him to do things like walk barefoot on the snow with the temperature reaching minus 30 degrees Celsius. In the breastfeeding scene, Vincent Gallo insisted on getting a real lactating woman for the role. Furthermore , there appears in a secondary role Emmanuelle Seigner , Roman Polanski's muse and wife . While some characters are named in the end credits, no names are used in the film itself . Very good and colorful cinematography by Adam Sikora , showing splendidly hostile, snow blanketed forests and cold landscapes . Emotive and sensitive musical score by Pawel Mykietyn . The motion picture was compellingly directed by the Polish Jerzy Skolimowski . He is a prestigious director, playwright, scriptwriter, painter and actor . And one of the best Polish filmmakers along with Roman Polanski and Andrzej Wajda , both of them are good friends . As Skolimowski has directed good films such as ¨Adventures of Gerard¨ , ¨Deep end¨ , ¨The shout¨, ¨The lightship¨ , ¨Success is the best revenge¨ , ¨Torrents of spring¨ , among others .¨Essential Killing¨ rating : Good , better than average , worthwhile watching .

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.