March 7 - March 21
THE MORAL MATRIX OF KRYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI
Krzysztof Kieslowski is undoubtedly Poland's best-known film director of the last 2 decades. He launched his career with a series of short documentaries whose depiction of everyday Polish life brought him into conflict with the authorities. His feature work in Poland attracted further controversy with several of his films being banned or shelved for long periods of time. Camera Buff (1979) won the grand prize at the Moscow Film Festival & Blind Chance (1981) was banned domestically for six years. Kieslowski's features developed the themes first articulated in his shorts, focussing on the ethical choices faced by the individual rather than a community. The Decalogue (1988) a series of 10 short films set in a Warsaw apartment block, each nominally based on a Ten Commandment, is now one of the most critically acclaimed film cycles of all time. A Short Film About Love was the feature-length version one of these episodes.
The success this series brought allowed Kieslowski to complete his final four films as co-productions with France. These final works, his most commercially successful, continued to focus on moral and metaphysical issues, with his Three Colours Trilogy becoming a huge international phenomenon, garnering a host of prestigious international awards including the Golden Lion for Best Film and Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival, and the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival, in addition to winning three Academy Award nominations. This Trilogy is generally regarded as a major achievement in modern cinema and a decade after his death Kieslowski still remains one of Europe's most influential filmmakers.
Presented in conjunction with :
FILMOTEKA NARODOWA - Polish Film Archive, Poland.
MARCH 7 - 7.00pm
Blue
(Krzysztof Kieslowski) 1993 France 100 mins M
First in the Three Colours trilogy in which Kieslowski's close-ups explore ideas of "freedom" from the personal perspective of his heroine Julie. One of the most highly regarded & awarded films of the 1990s with mysterious & hauntingly beautiful cinematography by Slawomir Idziak, a daring, breakout performance by Juliette Binoche & evocative score by Zbigniew Preisner.
MARCH 7 - 8.30pm
Blind Chance
(Krzysztof Kieslowski) 1981/87 Poland 122 mins MA
Kieslowski expertly ties together three elliptical narratives in a strikingly modernist speculation on fate, chance & individual freedom. Freed by his father's dying words, a young medical student buys a ticket to Warsaw to pursue a new life. Hinging on his rush to catch a train, three contrasting scenarios are plotted which not only determine the man's future but offer political metaphors for Poland's destiny. Made on the eve of Communist crackdown in Poland, this film was suppressed for nearly seven years. Imported 35mm print.
MARCH 14 - 7.00pm
White
(Krzysztof Kieslowski) 1994 France/Swiss/Poland 91 mins M
Darkly comic, Kieslowski's ironic exploration of the ideal of "equality" follows the plight of a Pole in Paris.
Divorced & humiliated by his beautiful wife (Julie Delpy), Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski) sets about getting even
through an elaborate scheme. Revenge is substituted for equality & death is the great leveller. The director's masterful
attention to visual playfulness & body gestures lend an (albeit more bitter) Chaplinesque flavour to the proceedings.
Preceded by...
Hospital 1976 21mins. Kieslowski follows orthopaedic surgeons on a 32-hour shift in a disintegrating medical system.
MARCH 14 - 9.05pm
Camera Buff
(Krzysztof Kieslowski) 1979 Poland 117 mins MA
A factory worker (co-writer Jerzy Stuhr) buys an 8mm movie camera to film his newborn child only to become fixated with the act of filmmaking, with life-changing consequences for his career & family. Employing gentle humour & a sympathetic eye, Kieslowski's multiple award-winning early feature brilliantly satirises life under an oppressive regime & presciently asserts the power for better or worse - of the filmed image. Imported 35mm print.
MARCH 21 - 7.00pm
Red
(Krzysztof Kieslowski) 1994 France/Swiss/Poland 99 mins M
Kieslowski's final film (& the final of the Three Colours trilogy) explores the theme of "fraternity" as the lives of a troubled young fashion model (Irčne Jacob) & a reclusive retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) are unexpectedly brought together. Upon its release, audiences were entranced by the film's romantic depiction of interconnected destiny & humanity. "A film of intoxicating beauty and profound revelation that continues to unfold long after the conclusion".
Preceded by...
Bricklayer
(Krzysztof Kieslowski) 1973 17 mins.
During the Stalinist era a bricklayer was encouraged by the Party to become an exemplary worker & further the Communist cause... And then came 1956...
MARCH 21 - 9.05pm
A Short Film about Love
(Krzysztof Kieslowski) 1988 Poland 86 mins M
Kieslowski's feature-length version of episode 6 of his Biblically-inspired opus The Decalogue is a characteristically layered portrait of the ethical, moral & sexual dilemmas encountered by a young postal worker & the older woman he becomes infatuated with. Co-written by key collaborator Krzysztof Piesiewicz & evocatively scored by Zbigniew Preisner. Imported 35mm print.
Preceded by...
The Railway Station 1980 13 mins, Warsaw's Central Railway Station, "Spy" cameras watch over the station &
Talking Heads, 1980 15mins, 79 Poles, aged 7-100, answer 3 questions.