Essential Killing (DVD disc) 2012 Vincent Gallo, Jerzy Skolimowski

Vincent Gallo (TETRO, BUFFALO '66) stars as a Middle-Eastern insurgent captured by US forces and transported to a secret detention centre somewhere in Europe. When the vehicle he is riding in crashes, he escapes into a snowy wilderness, a world away from the desert home he previously knew. Forced into extreme survival mode and pursued by an army that does not officially exist, he must confront the necessity to kill in order to survive. Essential Killing is a provocative examination of the modes of modern warfare and the limits of human endurance, this riveting thriller from veteran filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski (DEEP END, THE SHOUT) is anchored by an extraordinary performance from Vincent Gallo. Winner of Best Actor (Gallo) and Best Film at the 2010 Mar del Plata Film Festival, and the Volpi Cup Best Actor prize and the Grand Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival the same year, it was described by Eye for Film as a highly politicised work, unapologetically adopting the perspective of an Islamic insurgent forced to fight for survival on a quest of almost Biblical proportions.