Essential Killing (2010)

Director:

Jerzy Skolimowski

Writers:

Jerzy Skolimowski (screenplay) and
Ewa Piaskowska (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

22 October 2010 (Poland)

Genre:

Thriller | War

Tagline:

Run to live... kill to survive (UK)

Plot:

An Afghan POW attempts his escape.

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Afghanistan | Interrogation | Captive | On The Run

Awards:

14 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Vincent Gallo	...	Mohammed
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	Margaret
Zach Cohen	...	American Contractor 1
Iftach Ophir	...	American Contractor 2
Nicolai Cleve Broch	...	Helicopter Pilot 1
Stig Frode Henriksen	...	Helicopter Pilot 2
David L. Price	...	Interrogation Officer (as David Price)
Tracy Spencer Shipp	...	Young Soldier in Suv
Mark Gasperich	...	Head of Pursuit Team
Phillip Goss	...	Military Doctor
Klaudia Kaca	...	Woman on a Bicycle
Dariusz Juzyszyn	...	Logger
Raymond Josey	...	American Soldier
Robert Mazurkiewicz	...	Hunter
Janusz Wojtarowicz	...	Margaret's Husband
Pawel Baranek	...	Drunk Farmer 1
Marcin Galazyn	...	Drunk Farmer 2
David Jefferson	...	American Soldier
Donnell Knox	...	American Soldier
Geo D. Oliver	...	American Soldier
Kamil Ruszecki	...	Soldier
Stanislav Marek Lukasik	...	Soldier
Jérôme Dassier	...	Suv Driver
Daniel Bratterud	...	Soldier
Geir Marring	...	Fisherman
Bakar Mustapha	...	Extra
Øysteun Nordli	...	Extra
Patrick Gudmundsen	...	Extra
Morten Muom	...	Extra
Kristoffer Kaayne Kaalsaas	...	Extra
Rune Øgaard	...	Extra
Daniel William Verstegen	...	Extra
Bilbjørn Ruus	...	Extra
Hâvar Austli	...	Extra
Kenneth Berger	...	Extra
Even Løken Bergan	...	Extra
Morten Enger	...	Extra
Christian Teisnes	...	Extra
Stefan Johansen	...	Extra
Niklas Nygaard	...	Extra
Lars Markus Verpeide Bakke	...	Prisoner
Lars Berg Jensen	...	Extra (as Lars Jensen)
Kamil Hagberg	...	Extra
Ivar Eeg Gusscard	...	Extra
Thor Arne Thomassen	...	Extra
Âge Ruste	...	Extra
Lars Jonas Carberg	...	Extra
Ola Østbye Høiecgen	...	Extra
Louis Rustam Foss	...	Extra
Johannes Randem	...	Extra
Trygve Gausdal	...	Extra
Christian Aaslie	...	Extra
Aras Kanani	...	Extra
Ferdinand Gulbrandsen	...	Extra
Victor Alexander Viita	...	Extra
Torgrim Ødegård	...	Soldier (as Tiorgrim Ødegaard)
Uno Wahl	...	Extra
Varg Strande	...	Soldier / Prisoner
Anders Kile Cronningsæter	...	Extra
Byørn Ivar Lund	...	Extra
Håkon Speirs Færvik	...	Soldier
Frank Benjamin Finger	...	Extra
Thomas Berg	...	Extra
Bjørn Fjærestad	...	Extra
Fredrik Formo	...	Extra
Ivan Andreassen	...	Extra
Magnus Opsahl	...	Extra
Eirik Daleng	...	Prisoner
Emerson Reichert Gomes	...	Extra

Directed by
Jerzy Skolimowski

Writing credits
Jerzy Skolimowski		(screenplay) and
Ewa Piaskowska		(screenplay)
James McManus		(additional writing)

Produced by
József Berger	....	co-producer (as Joszef Berger)
Bjarne Bjørndalen	....	line producer: Norway
Ed Guiney	....	co-producer
Ingrid Lill Høgtun	....	co-producer
Andrew Lowe	....	executive producer
Ewa Piaskowska	....	producer
Marek Rozenbaum	....	line producer: Israel
Jerzy Skolimowski	....	producer
Jeremy Thomas	....	executive producer
Peter Watson	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Pawel Mykietyn

Cinematography by
Adam Sikora		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Réka Lemhényi		(chief editor)
Maciej Pawlinski

Production Design by
Joanna Kaczynska

Costume Design by
Anne Hamre

Makeup Department
Barbara Conway	....	makeup designer
Marta Domagala	....	makeup assistant: Poland
Robert Kupisz	....	hair stylist: Poland
Tomasz Matraszek	....	special makeup effects artist: Poland
Gabriella Németh	....	hair designer
Janne Røhmen	....	special makeup effects artist: Norway
Rick Glassman	....	additional special effects makeup (uncredited)

Production Management
Jakub Chilczuk	....	post-production supervisor
Bjørn Fjærestad	....	production manager: Norway
Dávid Jancsó	....	post-production supervisor
Neseser	....	post-production supervisor
Malgorzata Sandecka	....	post-production supervisor
Andrzej Stempowski	....	production manager: Poland
Itai Tamir	....	production supervisor: Israel
Sebastian Zakowski	....	set manager: Poland
Judit Schmidt	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Teresa Czepiec	....	second assistant director: Poland
Jérôme Dassier	....	first assistant director
Tessa Eggesbø	....	second assistant director: Norway
Krzysztof Kasior	....	second assistant director: Poland
Maxim Konoplov	....	third assistant director: Israel (as Max Konoplov)
Julia Popkiewicz	....	first assistant director: office, Poland
Jonathan Rozenbaum	....	second assistant director: Israel
Józef Skolimowski	....	second unit director: Poland
Michal Skolimowski	....	second unit director: Poland
Jon Are Uhnger	....	third assistant director: Norway

Art Department
Per Henry Borch	....	property master: Norway
Jacek Czechowski	....	art director: Poland
Lukasz Dobosz	....	stagehand: Poland
Ariel Glazer	....	set decorator: Israel
Marek Janik	....	dressing prop hand: Poland
Krzysztof Jerzak	....	stagehand: Poland
Julia Kasprzak	....	set decorator: Poland
Marcin Kaweczynski	....	stagehand: Poland
Anders Lunde	....	scenographer: Norway
Bogdan Piotrowski	....	property master: Poland
Manolo Schor	....	art department assistant: Israel (as Manuel Schor)
Robert Senderowski	....	dressing prop hand: Poland
Marcin Trybulski	....	construction manager: Poland
Arie Weiss	....	property master: Israel
Piotr Zimon	....	stagehand: Poland
Frank Rizzo	....	poster artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Rune Baggerud	....	boom operator: second unit, Norway
Michelle Cunniffe	....	recording mixer
Caoimhe Doyle	....	foley artist
Robert Flanagan	....	sound
Aza Hand	....	dialogue editor
Aza Hand	....	foley editor
Iwo Klimek	....	adr editor
Fiadhnait McCann	....	supervising sound editor
Eoghan McDonnell	....	foley assistant
Jean McGrath	....	foley recordist
Tomas Naug	....	sound engineer: second unit, Norway (as Thomas Naug)
Paul Naughton	....	boom operator
Garret Farrell	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Janusz Bykowski	....	special effects coordinator: Poland
Andreas Johannesen	....	special effects technician: Norway
Pini Klavir	....	special effects: Israel
Kai Kolstad Rødseth	....	special effects technician: Norway

Visual Effects by
Tadeusz Chmiel	....	compositor: Platige Image
Tadeusz Chmiel	....	textures: Platige Imagr
Marek Gajowski	....	visual effects artist: Alvernia Studios
Jakub Grygier	....	matte paint: Platige Image
Jakub Grygier	....	textures: Platige Image
Katarzyna Jarzyna	....	visual effects production supervisor: Platige Image
Adam Kaluski	....	offline support: Platige Image
Marcin Klicki	....	modeling: Platige Image
Jakub Knapik	....	3d animation: Platige Image
Jakub Knapik	....	lead compositor: Platige Image
Jakub Knapik	....	shading and lighting artist: Platige Image
Jakub Knapik	....	visual effects supervisor: Platige Image
Urszula Piekarska	....	assistant to visual effects production supervisor: Platige Image
Lukasz Poninski	....	visual effects production supervisor: Alvernia Studios
Piotr Popielawski	....	titles and credits: Platige Image
Jaroslaw Sawko	....	visual effects producer: Platige Image
Edyta Sek	....	visual effects production manager: Alvernia Studios
Piotr Sikora	....	visual effects producer: Platige Image
Lukasz Sobisz	....	simulations: Platige Image
Albert Szostkiewicz	....	effects technical director: Platige Image
Mateusz Tokarz	....	visual effects artist: Alvernia Studios
Mikolaj Valencia	....	visual effects supervisor: Alvernia Studios
Adam Wierzchowski	....	technical director: Platige Image
Witold Wnuk	....	visual effects artist: Alvernia Studios
Juliusz Zenkner	....	compositor: Platige Image
Juliusz Zenkner	....	rotoscopy: Platige Image
Juliusz Zenkner	....	titles and credits: Platige Image
Piotr Dutkiewicz	....	online support: Platige Image (uncredited)

Stunts
Robert Brzezinski	....	stunt coordinator: Poland
Jacek Dlugosz	....	stunts: POland
Johannes Eilertsen	....	stunt performer: Norway
Grzegorz Jurek	....	stunts: Poland
Kristoffer Jørgensen	....	stunt coordinator: Norway
Sergei Klimkin	....	stuntman (as Sergey Klimkin Kepa)
Tomasz Krzemieniecki	....	stunt performer: Poland
Tomasz Krzyzanowski	....	stunts: Poland
Maciej Kubica	....	stunts: Poland
Joe Perez	....	stunt rigger: Norway
Pawel Pliszka	....	stunts: Poland
Krzysztof Sztabinski	....	stunts: Poland
Stefan Wójcicki	....	stunts: Poland

Camera and Electrical Department
Carsten Aniksdal	....	still photographer: Norway
Igal Arobas	....	grip: Israel
Ola Austad	....	camera loader: "b" camera, Norway (as Ola Arnøy Austad)
Avishay Azulay	....	electrician: Israel (as Avishai Azoulay)
Ilan Ben Odiz	....	electrician: Irael (as Ilan Ben Oudiz)
Kim Berg	....	electrician: Norway
Liad Berger	....	grip: Israel
Marcin Boguszewski	....	underwater photography: Poland
Pawel Cichocki	....	gaffer: Poland
Robert Drabek	....	electrician: Poland
Jan Vidar Eriksen	....	grip assistant: Norway
Dariusz Grodzki	....	electrician: Poland
Ocki Hansson	....	grip: Norway
Lars-Petter Iversen	....	still photographer: Norway
Henryk Jedynak	....	focus puller: "a" camera
Jarl Grantin Johnsen	....	gaffer: Norway (as Jari Johnsen)
Ciaran Kavanagh	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Przemyslaw Klej	....	additional camera operator: Poland
Ivo Ledwozyw	....	still photographer: Poland
Krzysztof Lopuszanski	....	generator operator: Poland
Adam Maczka	....	generator operator: Poland
Yuri Manevich	....	generator operator: Israel
Philip McKeon	....	focus puller: 'b' camera
Ignacy Mysliwiec	....	video playback operator: Poland
Guy Ne'eman	....	key grip: Israel (as Guy Neeman)
Jerzy Nogal	....	key grip: Poland
Robin Ottersen	....	focus puller: second unit, Norway
Rafal Paradowski	....	camera operator: 'a' camera
Marta Proch	....	clapper loader: "b" camera, Poland
Emil Prokop	....	electrician: Poland
Jens Ramborg	....	camera operator: second unit, Norway
Udi Rimer	....	gaffer: Israel
Guro Rugstad Jenssen	....	still photographer: Norway
Yehuda Sar-Israel	....	second assistant camera: Israel
Albert Sciezynski	....	dolly grip: Poland
Adva Shoua	....	first assistant camera: Israel
Sebastian Stecko	....	electrician: Poland
Magdalene Symonowicz	....	clapper loader: 'a' camera
Maciej Szelerski	....	generator operator: Poland (as Marciej Szulerski)
Patrik Säfström	....	camera operator: second unit, Norway
Endre Eken Torp	....	focus puller: second unit, Norway
Levi Trøyte	....	electrician: Norway
Sagy Tsirken	....	video playback operator: Israel (as Sagy Tsirkin)
Adam Verete	....	electrician: Israel
Knut Westad	....	grip assistant: Norway
Matthew Weston	....	clapper loader: "b" camera, Norway (as Matt Weston)
Adam Wojtczakowski	....	electrician: Poland
Tomasz Wozniczka	....	additional camera operator: Poland
Pawel Zelazko	....	additional camera operator: Poland

Casting Department
Pawel Czajor	....	casting: Poland

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Adi Hahn	....	assistant costume designer: Israel
Linn Henriksen	....	assistant costume designer: Norway
Katarzyna Jarosinska	....	second assistant costume designer: Poland
Malgorzata Karpiuk	....	assistant costume designer: Poland

Editorial Department
Glen Castinho	....	digital colorist
Glen Castinho	....	digital intermediate supervisor
Attila Csabai	....	assistant editor
Sandra Falkowski	....	assistant editor
Dávid Jancsó	....	additional editor
Adam Kaluski	....	assistant editor
Wanda Kiss	....	additional editor
Sebastian Korwin-Kulesza	....	assistant editor
Piotr Krasny	....	4k scanning and film printing: Alvernia Studios
Lukasz Poninski	....	digital intermediate production supervisor
Edyta Sek	....	digital intermediate production supervisor
Cezary Szumski	....	assistant editor
Piotr Zmyslony	....	scanning assistant: Alvernia Studios
László Kovács	....	telecine colorist: dailies (uncredited)

Music Department
Piotr Dominksi	....	additional music preparation
Janice Ginsberg	....	music advisor
Karol Ludew	....	musician: percussion soloist
Marta Maslanka	....	musician: santur soloist
Pawel Mykietyn	....	musician: keyboard soloist
Rafal Paczkowski	....	recording and mixing engineer
Jaroslaw Regulski	....	recording and mixing engineer
Robert Siwak	....	musician: daf soloist
Pawel Stankiewicz	....	musician: electric guitar soloist
Maciej Szczycinski	....	musician: bass guitar soloist
Sebastian Wieladek	....	musician: ney/duduk soloist
Fabian Wlodarek	....	musician: accordion soloist

Transportation Department
Vidar Falck-Muus	....	provider: Chevrolet Tahoe
Wojo Jakus	....	transportation coordinator: Poland
Helge Lier	....	provider: Chevrolet Tahoe
Andrej Litawinski	....	unit driver: Poland
Per Mathiesen	....	provider: Chevrolet Tahoe
Ofer Netzer	....	driver: Israel
Waldemar Piasecki	....	unit driver: Poland
Shlomo 'Momo' Raz	....	driver: Israel
Adam Rychtarczyk	....	unit driver: Poland
Ola Røstbakken	....	provider: Chevrolet Tahoe
Meital Sarusi	....	driver: Mr. Gallo, Israel
Krzysztof Stepkowski	....	unit driver: Poland
Marcin Szczepaniak Garcia	....	unit driver: Poland
Wojciech Tlustowski	....	unit driver: Poland
Leszak Turowski	....	unit driver: Poland
Øystein Velund	....	driver: Mr. Gallo, Norway
Wieslaw Wiercicoch Wiertara	....	unit driver: Poland
Krzysztof Zarecki	....	driver: Mr. Gallo, Poland
Jacek Zastawny	....	unit driver: Poland
Robert Zielinski	....	driver: Ms. Seigner, Poland
Torgim Ødegård	....	driver: Ms. Skolimowski, Norway

Other crew
Oded Aharon	....	production assistant: Israel
Arik Ashkenazi	....	caterer: Israel
Kristina Aurvåg	....	production assistant: Norway
Liviu Babitz	....	production assistant: Israel
Robert Bachurzewski	....	production accountant: Poland
Agnieszka Balcerzak	....	production administrator: Poland
Noam Ben Giat	....	production assistant: Israel
Even Løken Bergan	....	unit medical assistant: Norway (as Even Bergan)
Jon Bromken	....	provider: winterpackage, Norway
Maren Burdal	....	dog handler: Norway
Oded Chakim	....	production assistant: Israel
Johannes Eilertsen	....	body double: Norway
Marthe Feiring	....	extras coordinator: Norway
Marthe Feiring	....	production secretary: Norway
Moselle Foley	....	production coordinator
Håkon Speirs Færvik	....	unit medical assistant: Norway
Jan-Erik Gammleng	....	production executive: Norway
Chiara Gelardin	....	business and legal affairs
Paulina Gmaj	....	production assistant: Poland
Phillip Goss	....	adr performer
Aza Hand	....	additional adr performer
Shirley Hermann	....	production coordinator: Israel
Michal Jaroszewicz	....	adr performer
Yaara Kalif	....	assistant: Mr. Gallo, Israel
Alainée Kent	....	development executive
Sergei Klimkin	....	body double: Poland (as Sergey Klimkin Kera)
Dariusz Klodowski	....	location manager: Poland
Piotr Kolodziejczyk	....	consultant: Poland
Agata Kordos	....	animal consultant: Poland
Eran Kotzki	....	location manager: Israel
Beata Krekiewicz	....	script supervisor
Pâl Kristiansen	....	helicopter pilot: RC, Norway
Gaute Lid Larssen	....	senior production executive: Norway
Jonathan Lynch-Staunton	....	representative: HanWay Films
Geir Marring	....	animal trainer: Norway
Geir Marring	....	hundeskole: oslo, Norway
Tanja Marring	....	caterer: Norway
Renana Netzer	....	water girl: Israel
Denis Nikolaev	....	production assistant: Israel
Konrad Orlowski	....	consultant: Poland
Filip Przybylski	....	adr performer
Morten Rasmussen	....	helicopter technical department: RC, Norway
Geir Rossebø	....	production assistant: Norway
Daniel Rozenbaum	....	production assistant: Israel
Marek Russ	....	animal coordinator: Poland
Mahmoud Salama	....	extras coordinator: Israel (as Mahmud Salame)
Meital Sarusi	....	dietician: Mr. Gallo, Israel
Tove Seppola	....	accountant: Norway
Szymon Skalski	....	consultant: Poland
Malgorzata Skuza	....	dialogue coach: Poland
Terje Stroemstad	....	production coordinator: Norway
Kim André Sørland	....	dog handler: Norway
Jeremy Thomas	....	presents
Jenny Adriana Vrolijk	....	accountant: Norway
Fabien Westerhoff	....	worldwide sales
Vonatan Zaid	....	production assistant: Israel
Eszter Óvári	....	production coordinator
Hilde Østby	....	press coordinator: shooting, Norway
Louise Cornally	....	production finance executive (uncredited)
Eirik Daleng	....	stand-in: Vincent Gallo (uncredited)
Lipák Erzsébet	....	production accountant (uncredited)
Frank Benjamin Finger	....	stand-in: male (uncredited)
Paula Heffernan	....	production executive: Element Pictures (uncredited)

Thanks
Truls Kontny	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Skopia Film (as A Skopia Film Production)
• Cylinder Production (co-produced by)
• Element Pictures (co-produced by)
• Mythberg Films (co-produced by)
• Canal+ Polska (in co-production with) (as Canal+ Poland)
• Syrena Films (in co-production with)
• Akson Studio (co-financier)
• Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej (with the support of) (as The Polish Film Institute)
• Bórd Scannán na hÉireann (with the support of) (as Bórd Scannán na hÉireann / The Irish Film Board)
• Norsk Filminstitutt (with the support of) (as The Norwegian Film Institute)
• Magyar Mozgókép Kozalapítvány (with the support of) (as Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungary)
• Eurimages (with the support of)
• Irish Film Board (funding)

Distributors

• Syrena Films (2010) (Poland) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2011) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2011) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Element Pictures Distribution (2011) (Ireland) (theatrical)
• IFA (2012) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Kinokuniya (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Mermaid Film (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2011) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Tribeca Film (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• W2 Media (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Home Entertainment (2011) (Germany) (DVD)
• Eagle Entertainment (2011) (Australia) (DVD)
• Eye Division (2012) (Italy) (DVD)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2011) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East)
• Surreal Films (2011) (France) (all media)
• Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2011) (Portugal) (all media)

Special Effects

• Platige Image (visual effects)
• Alvernia Studios (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Allan Chapman & James Insurance Brokers  E&O insurance
• Alvernia Studios  4K digital intermediate
• Ardmore Sound  sound post-production
• Concorde Film Trust  funding
• Dana  catering: Poland
• IMI Studio  adr recording facilities (as I.M.I. Studio)
• P.A.Y. Studio TV Sp. z o.o.  additional editing (as P.A.Y. Studio)
• Postoffice Films  editing
• Studio Buffo  music recording and mixing facility
• Transfax Film Productions  production services: Israel
• Univern V  winterpackage: Norway
• Voss Mineral Water  water: Mr. Gallo, Norway
• Zaklad Tresury Psow Russ  animals provided by: Poland

Also Known As:

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

Poland | Norway | Ireland | Hungary | France

Language:

English | Polish | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Australia:MA | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Portugal:M/16 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Enebakkneset, Akershus, Norway

Company:

Skopia Film

Trivia:

Vincent Gallo's role demanded him to do things like walk barefoot on the snow with the temperature reaching minus 30 degrees Celsius.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Mohammed falls in the water he climbs out of the lake. However, in the following scene with the dog he seems dry.

a quiet and fascinating movie that takes risks.

This film defies almost every cinematic convention in the book. In many ways it reminds me of the style of Tarkovsky. Of course, as with Tarkovsky, this will likely leave those with conventional expectations confused, bored and thinking it makes no sense. It uses a lot of metaphorical and allegorical imagery and if people a. expect things to be literal and clearly spelled out with an obvious narrative or b. don't have the background or context to understand these metaphors they are probably going to find the film awful. It also lacks a clear moral position or message as we normally expect from movies. The atmosphere of the movie evokes the tone of Kosinski's book "The Painted Bird" to me in an odd way; another stranger in - the same - strange land.

The movie is surprisingly non-political and doesn't seem to ask the viewer to agree with or condemn the character (though sympathies are challenged). It reminds me very much of the old ink-blot tests and leaves A LOT for the viewer to fill in. The resulting interpretation *may* even be correct BUT not the only way it can be interpreted and I think people's predispositions very much effect how they see the movie and, like the ink-blot tests, the assumptions one makes can be revealing. If one is inclined to see the west's incursions into the mid-east as imperialistic or otherwise wrong-headed, they are likely to see the lead actor as a victim or as an any-man trying to escape the inescapable. If a viewer is biased to assume anyone that looks middle-eastern is likely guilty of being a terrorist, they will probably view him as a Taliban or Al Qaeda member and have little or no sympathy for him or his plight. (i.e. note the extremes in the reviews on this board.) And it is open for interpretations beyond these. Despite advertising, when we first see him he is unarmed it is not clearly indicated that he is a Taliban, a terrorist, or even a militant at all. Though he might be...

Excellent camera work. The music is jarring and angular but fits. Huge kudos to Gallo. Unlike anything else he's done and he seems incredibly right for the role.

A great movie but more for the cinephile and not for the mainstream. Definitely not a Hollywood movie.