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Essential Killing

Play trailer Poster for Essential Killing R 2010 1h 24m Mystery & Thriller War Play Trailer Watchlist
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77% Tomatometer 53 Reviews 46% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A Taliban soldier (Vincent Gallo) struggles to survive after he escapes his captors and flees into the Polish countryside.
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Essential Killing

Essential Killing

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Critics Consensus

Driven by a uniquely stark mood and propulsive direction, Essential Killing excels due to an unrelentingly visceral performance from Vincent Gallo.

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Critics Reviews

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Ben Sachs Chicago Reader 05/05/2020
It's great screen acting, as [Vincent] Gallo expressively uses his body to make it part of the film's overall design. Go to Full Review
Scott Tobias AV Club 05/05/2020
B-
Essential Killing goes so far out of its way to avoid political commentary that the commentary that remains is slim, reduced to a familiar, though occasionally striking, statement on man's animal nature. Go to Full Review
Tara Brady Irish Times 05/05/2020
The religious-themed inserts are incongruous in a project that so studiously sidesteps political markers and prove an unwanted distraction in the cinema. Go to Full Review
Giuseppe Sedia Kino Mania 08/10/2023
4.5/5
Skolimowski succeeds in directing a minimalistic escape movie that enhances the physical performance of a wonderfully unrecognizable Vincent Gallo as the Taliban runaway [about] the many-sided taboo of Polish politics and the CIA’s covert operations. Go to Full Review
Paul Whitington Irish Independent 05/05/2020
3/5
Once [Jerzy] Skolimowski has established his story's visual momentum, it goes precisely nowhere. Go to Full Review
Allan Hunter Daily Express (UK) 05/05/2020
3/5
Tightly controlled by veteran director Jerzy Skolimowski and beautifully shot on location in Israel and Poland, Essential Killing is an exciting if wildly implausible fable. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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03/22/2018 Only 83 minutes!...It seemed like 83 hours. See more 07/09/2017 Jerzy Skolimowski's survival tale benefits from a steady, muted performance by VIncent Gallo. See more 12/13/2016 The story of survival of a man from, what we presume, Afghanistan lost in the middle of the taïga of Siberia. Not a killer by choice, a killer for survival, for the essential. Vincent Gallo is truly a good actor, it is too bad we don't see him enough. Not a must see but a good film. See more 09/10/2016 As purely a visceral thriller it goes well at first but tapers off a bit ineffectually, and the lack of context switches from being a strength, to joining the budget as a limitation. Instead of building some sort of narrative, you flounder around making wilder and ever weaker guesses, until you give up and wait powerless for the inevitable. See more 11/05/2015 Beautiful scenery and I liked the sound effects/texture especially all the small sounds like snow crunching. Made me think about the war on terror from another perspective for a minute. I liked how we got to see everything from this characters POV and came to empathize for him a bit (though I was never routing for him). Makes you wonder about how you might deal with that. I don't know how I would have made out after the messing up my foot. Loved the lack of dialogue See more 09/29/2014 A good film that gives you the first part excitements and ends with scenes of silence while the protagonist struggles. See more Read all reviews
Essential Killing

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Movie Info

Synopsis A Taliban soldier (Vincent Gallo) struggles to survive after he escapes his captors and flees into the Polish countryside.
Director
Jerzy Skolimowski
Producer
Ewa Piaskowska, Jerzy Skolimowski
Screenwriter
Jerzy Skolimowski, Ewa Piaskowska
Production Co
Element Pictures, Cylinder Production, Skopia Film
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 23, 2012
Runtime
1h 24m
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