Essential Killing

Essential Killing is a 2010 Polish political thriller film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuelle Seigner. A man is captured in the desert by United States forces after attacking three soldiers, and is soon tortured and brutalized in a secret detention center. He finds himself transported to Poland, along with other prisoners. He manages to escape into the vast frozen woodland, a world away from the home he knew. In order to survive he kills some of those who stray into his path and forages for food both from nature and from those he encounters. A woman gives him shelter, treats his wounds and feeds him before sending him back out into the wilderness. He departs on a white horse and, as the first shoots of spring are seen through the snow, appears to die. Essential Killing was shot in Israel, Poland and Norway from December 2009 through to February 2010. The film saw Jerzy Skolimowski reunite with Jeremy Thomas, who previously produced his feature The...