To Kill a Man

{{Infobox film

| name = To Kill a Man

| image = To Kill a Man poster.jpg

| native_name = Matar a un hombre

| caption = Promotional release poster

| director = Alejandro Fernández Almendras

| producer = Guillaume de Seille
Eduardo Villalobos

| writer = Alejandro Fernández Almendras

| starring = Daniel Antivilo
Daniel Candia
Ariel Mateluna
Alejandra Yáñez

| music = Pablo Vergara

| cinematography = Inti Briones

| editing = Alejandro Fernández Almendras
Soledad Salfate

| studio = El Remanso

| distributor = Film Movement

| released = {{Film date|2014|01|17|Sundance Film Festival}}

| runtime = 82 minutes

| country = Chile
France

| language = Spanish

}}

To Kill a Man ({{Langx|es|Matar a un hombre}}) is a 2014 Chilean-French drama film written and directed by Alejandro Fernández Almendras.{{cite web |title=Interview: Director Alejandro Fernandez Almendras On His Festival Hit "To Kill a Man"|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/interview-director-alejandro-fernandez-almendras-on-his-festival-hit-to-kill-a-man-international-film-business|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}{{cite web |title=Chile's To Kill a Man wins World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic'|url=http://latinosatsundance.com/2014/01/26/chiles-to-kill-a-man-wins-world-cinema-grand-jury-prize-dramatic/|accessdate=April 14, 2014}} The film premiered in-competition in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014.{{cite web |title=Sundance 2014: World Cinema Dramatic Competition|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-2014-world-cinema-dramatic-competition|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}{{cite web |title=To Kill a Man - Director Alejandro Fernández|url=http://filmmakermagazine.com/83021-to-kill-a-man-director-alejandro-fernandez/|accessdate=January 18, 2014}} It won the Grand Jury Prize at the festival.{{cite web |title=Sundance: 'Whiplash' & 'Rich Hill' Win Grand Jury Awards; Dramatic Directing Goes To Cutter Hodierne For 'Fishing Without Nets'|url=https://deadline.com/2014/01/sundance-film-festival-winners-2014-awards-list-671058/|access-date=January 26, 2014}}{{cite web |title='Whiplash' Owns the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Awards Netting Two Top Prizes|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/the-2014-sundance-film-festival-winners-as-they-come-in|accessdate=January 26, 2014}}

On January 29, it premiered at 2014 International Film Festival Rotterdam and won the KNF Award.{{cite web |title=To Kill a ManSP-2014 |url=https://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/matar-a-un-hombre/|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}{{cite web |title=Rotterdam 2014 Juries Award Films|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/rotterdam-2014-juries-award-films-international-film-business|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}{{cite web |title=IFFR 3: Sorrow and Joy, To Kill a Man & Club Sandwich|url=http://www.ravage-webzine.nl/2014/02/03/iffr-3-sorrow-joy-kill-man-club-sandwich/|accessdate=April 14, 2014}} The film later screened at the 2014 Miami International Film Festival in The Knight Competition on March 10, 2014.{{cite web |title=Miami International Film Festival 2014 Guide|url=http://www.miamicitysocial.com/miami-international-film-festival-2014-guide|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}{{cite web |title=Miami Film Festival Unveils 2014 Lineup|website=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/miami-film-festival-unveils-2014-674825|accessdate=April 14, 2014}} It won the Critics Award at the festival.{{cite web |title=Miami Film Fest: 'A Wolf at the Door' Tops Knight Competition|website=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/miami-film-fest-a-wolf-688928|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}{{cite web |title='A Wolf at the Door,' 'Aurora' Top Miami Festival|url=https://variety.com/2014/more/global/wolf-at-the-door-aurora-top-miami-festival-1201134836/|accessdate=April 14, 2014}} It also premiered in competition at 2014 Fribourg International Film Festival on March 30, 2014 and won the Special Jury Prize.{{cite web |title=To Kill a Man - Matar a un Hombre|url=http://www.fiff.ch/en/programme-2014/films/international-competition-long-films/to-kill-a-man-matar-a-un-hombre.html|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}{{cite web |title=Award Winners 2014|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/rotterdam-2014-juries-award-films-international-film-business|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}

After its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Film Movement acquired the distribution rights of the film. The movie was theatrically released in the United States and Canada in fall 2014, followed with a VOD and DVD release.{{cite web |title=Berlin: Chilean Drama 'To Kill a Man' Gets U.S. Distribution|website=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/berlin-chilean-drama-kill-a-678230|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}{{cite web |title=Berlin: Film Movement Takes North America on 'To Kill a Man' (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/berlin-film-movement-takes-north-america-on-to-kill-a-man-exclusive-1201090496/|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}

The film was selected as the Chilean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-chile-nominates-kill-a-731414 |title=Oscars: Chile Nominates 'To Kill a Man' for Foreign Language Category |accessdate=9 September 2014 |work=Hollywood Reporter}}

Plot

Jorge, a hard-working and impoverished man, and his family live in terror due to the harassment from the criminal gang of Kalule. When Jorge's teenage son courageously attempts to defend his father, Kalule responds by shooting him. Despite their efforts to seek justice through the legal system, Jorge and his wife Martha are unsuccessful. To make matters worse, Kalule is released from prison after serving only a two-year sentence. Determined to protect his family, Jorge prepares to take matters into his own hands.

Cast

Daniel Antivilo as Kalule
Daniel Candia as Jorge
Ariel Mateluna as Jorgito
Alejandra Yáñez as Marta

Reception

To Kill a Man received mostly positive reviews upon its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Variety reviewer Guy Lodge, called “To Kill a Man,” a grim, fat-free revenge thriller that extracts an impressive degree of moral equivocation from its exceedingly simple premise."{{cite web |title=Film Review: 'To Kill a Man'|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-to-kill-a-man-1201085026/|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}

John DeFore in his review for The Hollywood Reporter called the film "A quiet drama that cares as much about familial alienation as getting away with murder."{{cite web |title=To Kill a Man: Sundance Review|website=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/kill-a-man-sundance-review-673772|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}

Carlos Aguilar of IndieWire grade the film B+ by saying that "Chilean director Alejandro Fernández Almendras' third feature "To Kill a Man" is a quietly powerful character study that meditates on the ramifications of a family man's choice to defend his kind."{{cite web |title=Sundance Review: A Father Is Transformed By The Remorseful Burden That Comes From Taking Human Life in 'To Kill a Man'|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-review-a-father-is-transformed-by-the-remorseful-burden-that-comes-from-taking-a-human-life-in-to-kill-a-man|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}

Lorri Vodi Rupard from The GATE praised the film by saying that "The tonality of To Kill A Man is that of stark desperation, the subject matter weighty. Still, woven throughout Alejandro’s undertaking there’s tangible humor and pathos as if one is watching an unanimated rip-off of WB’s Roadrunner where Wile E. Coyote has found Jesus and is less emaciated after all these years but still can’t get his man."{{cite web |title=Sundance '14 Review: 'To Kill A Man' by director Alejandro Fernandez Almendras|url=http://www.thegate.ca/reviews/020123/sundance-14-review-kill-man-director-alejandro-fernandez-almendras/|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}

Chris Michael of The Guardian gave the film four out of five stars by saying that "This meticulous film squeezes Jorge ever tighter in its grip as his contemptuous wife, his vulnerable daughter and, you feel, his own pride demand that he stand up for his family when the authorities can't kiss it better. A terrifically tense first half culminates in a truly brilliant scene featuring a car alarm used as a lure. The pace subsequently sags, but it all ends with a dramatic pop as sharp as the first of only two gunshots in this menacing, morally agnostic film."{{cite web |title=To Kill a Man – first look review|website=TheGuardian.com |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/28/to-kill-a-man-first-look-review|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}

Accolades

File:"To Kill a Man" Wins the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize (12186269053).jpg.]]

class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em auto;"
Year ! Award ! Category ! Recipient ! Result
rowspan="7" \| 2014 \| Sundance Film Festival \| World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic \| rowspan="7"\| Alejandro Fernández Almendras \| {{won}}
rowspan="2"\| International Film Festival Rotterdam \| Big Screen Award \| {{nom}}
KNF Award \| {{won}}
rowspan="2" \| Miami International Film Festival \| Grand Jury Prize - Knight Competition \| {{nom}}
Miami Future Cinema Critics Award \| {{won}}
rowspan="2"\| Fribourg International Film Festival \| Grand Prix \| {{nom}}
Special Jury Prize \| {{won}}

class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em auto;"

Year

! Award

! Category

! Recipient

! Result

rowspan="7" | 2014

| Sundance Film Festival

| World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic

| rowspan="7"| Alejandro Fernández Almendras

| {{won}}

rowspan="2"| International Film Festival Rotterdam