Beyond Bloodied Ditches: Director Abed Abest's 'Killing the Eunuch Khan' Redefines Cinema with an Anti-War Message
Director Abed Abest explains the plot of Killing the Eunuch Khan to be that of a serial killer who is making his victims kill more people for him. As a result, this creates a chain reaction of murders that fills the city’s ditches with blood—people who unwittingly turn against each other.
Audiences might draw parallels to films like the Saw series, in which a serial killer named Jigsaw abducts and subjects individuals to torturous situations, forcing them to jeopardize their lives with the only chance of release being to commit harm to others. However, Killing the Eunuch Khan is anything but that.
To begin with, it’s a treatise against violence and an anti-war film set in Iran during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. When viewers leave the movie, they understand its anti-war message: that violence cannot be fought with violence and that there is a need to maintain peace in which children can grow up free from the shackles of war, reflecting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.
Films with a non-linear narrative, very little to no dialogue, and a reflective nature that encourages their audiences to think independently are not the most commercially viable films. General audiences, whose goal is to be entertained by the movies, tend to shy away from them due to their abstract artistic nature, which pushes audiences to think as much as they are watching. Yet Killing the Eunuch Khan also engages even the most anti-art film audience, as it comes with many compelling attributes.
First, the film still has characters for viewers to anchor their emotions onto. It opens with a father who lives an idyllic life with his two young daughters. In a non-linear manner, viewers can watch his two daughters play, age, and eventually pass because of war. Audiences witness the rise of Khan in the father’s life, and eventually, soldiers appear in his house before the film ends exactly where they began. The chronological sequence of these events, whether they occurred before or after one another as they are presented in the film, becomes irrelevant. What holds significance is the tragic loss of the two daughters to war and how their father, once leading an idyllic life with a positive outlook, was forced to bear arms and engage in the conflict.
The movie concludes with the audience unanimously grasping the malicious nature of violence perpetuated by war, where deaths breed vengeance, leading to further casualties. The film's second noteworthy feature is its delivery of a readily comprehensible anti-war message, emphasizing that resorting to violence only begets more violence. It underscores the imperative need for peace and ethical leadership. The film blatantly states that war diminishes the value of individual lives in the face of ideologies and the needs of the elite few.
Third is the film’s production value, where its audiences engage with breathtaking cinematography. Crafted by Hamid Khozouie Abyane, it captures the landscape of Iran, from its suburbs to the grandness of its natural vistas. Abyane’s cinematography helps to further enhance how helpless the characters feel in the face of death by making the reds of their blood pop up even more against the landscape.
The cinematography amplifies the characters’ deaths as a grand affair, supported by an equally dramatic score by Christophe Rezai. The spilling of blood from just one person can flood a whole room, a house, a pool, and eventually a whole canyon.
In summary, Killing the Eunuch Khan challenges cinematic norms with its anti-war, non-linear narrative. It goes beyond typical serial killer tropes, captivating audiences through compelling characters, a clear message, beautiful cinematography, and a haunting score. The film provides a thought-provoking and immersive experience that delivers a clear anti-war message that underlines a need for peace and that violence is futile since it can only breed more violence.