No End (1985)

No End (1985)
Bez konca (original title)
109 min
Country: Poland

Language: Polish


Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writers: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz
Stars: Grazyna Szapolowska, Maria Pakulnis and Aleksander Bardini

No End (Polish: Bez końca) is a 1985 film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Grażyna Szapołowska, Maria Pakulnis, and Aleksander Bardini. The film is about the state of Martial law in Poland after the banning of the trade union Solidarity in 1981. Kieślowski worked with several regular collaborators for the first time on No End.(Wikipedia)

It's 1982: Poland is under martial law, and Solidarity is banned. Ulla, a translator working on Orwell, suddenly loses her husband, Antek, an attorney. She is possessed by her grief, and Antek continues to appear to her. She seeks to free herself in her work, in her relationship with her son, in sex, and in hypnosis. In a subplot, Ulla refers the wife of one of her husband's clients Darek, a jailed Solidarity strike organizer to Labrador, a world-weary, aging attorney, who works to free Darek by various political manipulations and psychological ploys. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>  (IMDB)

Ratings: 90% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

The Decalogue (1988)

The Decalogue (1988)
"Dekalog" (original title)
TV Mini-Series
572 min
Country: Poland
Language: Polish

Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski
Produced by Ryszard Chutkowski
Written by Krzysztof Kieślowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz

The Decalogue (Polish: 'Dekalog' - and known as such in many English language editions) is a 1989 Polish television drama series directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and co-written by Kieślowski with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, with music by Zbigniew Preisner. It consists of ten one-hour films, inspired by the Ten Commandments. Each short film explores one or several moral or ethical issues faced by characters living in modern Poland.
The series is Kieślowski's most acclaimed work, possibly "the best dramatic work ever done specifically for television"  and has won numerous international awards, though it was not widely released outside Europe until the late 1990s. Film-maker Stanley Kubrick wrote an admiring foreword to the published screen-play in 1991.Wikipedia.org

Read Review: Filmsufi.blogspot.in

Awards

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A Short Film About Killing (1988)

A Short Film About Killing (1988)
Krótki film o zabijaniu (original title)
84 min


Country: Poland
Language: Polish


Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writers: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz
Stars: Miroslaw Baka, Krzysztof Globisz and Jan Tesarz

A Short Film About Killing (Polish: Krótki film o zabijaniu) is a 1988 film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Miroslaw Baka, Krzysztof Globisz, and Jan Tesarz. Written by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the film was expanded from Decalogue V of the Polish television series The Decalogue. Set in Warsaw, Poland, the film compares the senseless, violent murder of an individual to the cold, calculated execution by the state. A Short Film About Killing won both the Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival,[2] as well as the European Film Award for Best Film.It is one of the 11 films that have been selected for preservation by National Film Archive of India.


The film shows a very bleak Poland at the dying end of the Communist era. This is greatly enhanced by the strong use of colour filters. The print appears to have an effect similar to sepia tone or bleach bypass - although it is a colour picture, the photography combined with grey locations provides an effect similar to monochrome.
Krótki film o zabijaniu was released in the same year that the death penalty was suspended in Poland. In 1988 the country carried out just a single execution, with 6 condemned prisoners being hanged in 1987. The portrayal of the execution method and procedure is mostly accurate, however in reality the date of executions were a surprise to the prisoner - the condemned man would simply be led into a room to discover it was the execution chamber. After the early years of Communist repression, executions were quite rare and invariably for murder; from 1969 a total of 183 men were hanged and no women. A major inaccuracy in the film is the extremely short time between the crime, trial and execution - the film implies mere months. (Wikipedia)


Awards and nominations
1988 Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1988 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1988 Cannes Film Festival Nomination for the Palme d'Or (Krzysztof Kieślowski)
1988 European Film Award for Best Film (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1988 Polish Film Festival Golden Lion Award (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1990 Bodil Award for Best European Film (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1990 French Syndicate of Cinema Critics Award for Best Foreign Film (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1990 Robert Festival Award for Best Foreign Film (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won


Cannes 1988: Won: FIPRESCI Prize: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Polish Film Festival 1988: Won: Golden Lion: Krzysztof Kieslowski (More Awards)

Rating: 83% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

A Short Film About Love (1988)

A Short Film About Love (1988)
Krótki film o milosci (original title)
86 min
Country: Poland
Language: Polish

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writers: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz
Stars: Grazyna Szapolowska, Olaf Lubaszenko and Stefania Iwinska

A Short Film About Love (Polish: Krótki film o miłości) is a Polish romantic drama film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Grażyna Szapołowska and Olaf Lubaszenko. Written by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the film is about a young post office worker deeply in love with a promiscuous older woman who lives in an adjacent apartment building. After spying on her through a telescope, he meets and declares his love for this jaded woman who long ago gave up on believing in love. She responds to his innocence by initiating him on the basic fact of life—that there is no love, only sex.A Short Film About Love is an expanded film version of Decalogue VI, part of Kieślowski's 1988 Polish language ten-part television series, The Decalogue. The film is set in Warsaw.
The film is based on Kieślowski's Decalogue VI, with minor changes and expansions to the script. The most significant change is to the ending, which was rewritten at the suggestion of lead actress Grażyna Szapołowska, who wanted the film to have a "fairytale ending". The original version ends with Tomek back at work, recovered from his attempted suicide, and telling Magda that he does not watch her anymore. The film ends with Magda's more developed concern for Tomek mirroring his earlier obsession with her. The film concludes in Tomek's room after his return from hospital. She looks through his telescope into her own apartment and Kieślowski replays an earlier scene of Magda crying in her kitchen, which had led Tomek to reveal his feelings to her, only this time she is joined and comforted by Tomek. Like Kieślowski's other Decalogue films, it features the mysterious angelic Man in White. (Wikipedia)

Awards and nominations


1988 Polish Film Festival Award for Best Actress (Grazyna Szapolowska) Won
1988 Polish Film Festival Award for Best Cinematography (Witold Adamek) Won
1988 Polish Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress (Stefania Iwinska) Won
1988 Polish Film Festival Golden Lion Award (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1988 San Sebastián International Film Festival OCIC Award (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1988 San Sebastián International Film Festival Special Prize of the Jury (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1989 São Paulo International Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won[10]
1988 National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Foreign Film Award
1988 Venice Film Festival FIPRESCI Award Nomination
1988 Chicago Film Critics Association Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film

Ratings: 100% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read Review: slantmagazine.com

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Blind Chance (1981)

Blind Chance (1981)
Przypadek (original title)
114 min

Country: Poland
Language: Polish


Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writer: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Stars: Boguslaw Linda, Tadeusz Lomnicki and Zbigniew Zapasiewicz

Blind Chance (Polish: Przypadek) is a Polish film written and directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Bogusław Linda. The film presents three separate storylines, told in succession, about a man running after a train and how such an ordinary incident could influence the rest of the man's life.Originally filmed in 1981, Blind Chance was suppressed by the Polish authorities for several years until its delayed release in Poland on 10 January 1987. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. (Wikipedia Page)

Awards:

1987 Polish Film Festival Silver Lion Award (Krzysztof Kieślowski) -Won
1987 Polish Film Festival Best Actor Award (Boguslaw Linda)- Won

Rating: 83% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read Review: www.aboutfilm.com