The Things You Kill 2025 Movie Review
Alireza Khatami’s 2025 film is one that doubles as a fascinating character study and a psychological mystery, with plenty of layers to unpack. We get to know the protagonist Ali almost scene by scene, amid a family turmoil that’s fairly hard to explain. Things take a really unexpected turn in the film’s second act, and it took a while for the little details to register. Themes of guilt, belonging, inheritance, and violence are meshed into the proceedings, sometimes by way of hard-hitting dialogue exchanges and sometimes with real-time visual support.
The performances really hit home, with Ekin Koç and later Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, helping us navigate the protagonist’s inexplicable state of mind. Bartosz Swiniarski’s brilliant cinematography offers an enigmatic sense of magical realism to portray the slow decay of a human mind, while also capturing characters going about their usual banter in a slice-of-life fashion reminiscent of several Iranian films (..Khatami’s rooted Iranian sensibilities probably add to this).
The garden that the protagonist spends a good amount of time at is one that’s nearly parched and barren. It also parallels Ali’s infertility and how it constantly bothers him, indirectly affecting the relationship he has with his wife.
There are several such storytelling moments where the creative decisions initially don’t make sense, but the longer you let the entire thing marinate in your head, more (previously unearthed) ideas begin to sprout. That’s a sign of a great film in my books. Also, I have a huuuuuge crush on Hazar Ergüçlü now. Gosh, that incredibly short sex scene with the sound of water gushing from the pump was.. I have no words.
The same goes for that shockingly beautiful scene at the terrace, with the couple smoking cigarettes. The ending is so Lynchian, and it took me a good five minutes to shake off what I’d just witnessed. If you’re ready for something psychologically affecting and don’t mind the unhurried pace, Khatami’s film will reward you aplenty with allegories (..and unnerving answers).
