Essential Killing
“Run to live... kill to survive.”
Synopsis
A Taliban soldier struggles to survive after he escapes his captors and flees into the Polish countryside.
Trailers, Teasers & Extra Featurettes
Official promotional previews, behind-the-scenes footage, and exclusive clips.
Official TrailerOfficial
Type: Trailer • Published 2012-01-27
Top Cast
Explore Star Directory →
Release History & Theatrical Window
November 20, 2010
Wide Cinema Exhibition
Financials & Box Office Performance
Production Budget
$3.7M
Filming & production cost
Worldwide Gross
Pending
Total global ticket sales
Key Information & Fast Facts
- Director
- Jerzy Skolimowski
- Screenplay & Story
- Jerzy Skolimowski, James McManus, Ewa Piaskowska
- Original Score
- Paweł Mykietyn
- Original Title
- Essential Killing
- Country of Origin
- Poland, Norway, Ireland, Hungary
- Spoken Languages
- Polish, Arabic, English
- Runtime
- 1h 24m
- Production Budget
- $3.7M
- Production Studios
- Skopia Film, Cylinder Production, Element Pictures, Mythberg Films, Syrena Films, CANAL+ Polska
Creative Leadership & Key Crew
Jerzy Skolimowski
Jerzy Skolimowski, James McManus, Ewa Piaskowska
Paweł Mykietyn
Adam Sikora
Réka Lemhényi, Maciej Pawliński
Jerzy Skolimowski, Ewa Piaskowska, Andrew Lowe, Peter Watson, Jeremy Thomas
Department Leadership Roster
Jerzy Skolimowski
Director
Jerzy Skolimowski
Screenplay
Jerzy Skolimowski
Producer
James McManus
Screenplay
Adam Sikora
Director of Photography
Ewa Piaskowska
Producer
Ewa Piaskowska
Screenplay
Réka Lemhényi
Editor
Joanna Kaczyńska
Production Design
Anne Hamre
Costume Design
Maciej Pawliński
Editor
Paweł Mykietyn
Original Music Composer
Production Stills & Gallery
Official cinematic photography and background stills for Essential Killing.
Featured In Curated Collections
Editorial lists, community rankings, and cinematic collections featuring Essential Killing.
European Cinema
Auto-generated by festival-lists — do not edit by hand.
NeoDrakkon
All The Movies I Have Seen
All the movies i have seen in my life
Polish Films
Polish cinema: Wikidata country-of-origin Poland, merged with the canon (Polish Film School, Moral Anxiety, Has, Zulawski, Kieslowski, Wajda, contemporary).
list_War
Movies categorized under War
Pluto TV US - War Movies
Curated list of Most Popular on Pluto TV (US). Updated frequently. Last updated August 28, 2026.
Similar Titles to Essential Killing
Movies sharing stylistic DNA, tone, and thematic storytelling
6.1
6.2
7.0
7.0
4.7
6.3
7.2
7.7
7.2
3.9
6.7
6.7![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 2 3"%3E%3Crect width="2" height="3" fill="%23161922"/%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Voice of a Nation: My Journey Through Afghanistan
4.3
5.8
7.4
7.9
6.0
7.0
More Like Essential Killing
Recommended titles matching themes, cast, and genres.
Frequently Asked Questions About Essential Killing
Quick factual answers about cast, synopsis, director, box office, and release information.
What is Essential Killing about?
A Taliban soldier struggles to survive after he escapes his captors and flees into the Polish countryside.
Who directed Essential Killing?
Essential Killing was directed by Jerzy Skolimowski.
Who stars in Essential Killing?
The principal cast of Essential Killing includes Vincent Gallo, Emmanuelle Seigner, David L. Price, Zach Cohen, Iftach Ophir.
When was Essential Killing released and how long is it?
Essential Killing was released in 2010 with a total runtime of 1h 24m.
Who composed the musical score for Essential Killing?
The original motion picture soundtrack for Essential Killing was composed by Paweł Mykietyn.