Kieslowski as a religion, and he was that for a time in my home country, passed me by. I came of age as a viewer after he was gone so belatedly I set out to fill this blind spot with a series of viewings. Watching every single thing he made is not an aim, rather it's getting to know the worldview, how he grows and deepens, with an eye on finally encountering his celebrated color films.I chose this as a start, it seemed like it would be neither too early nor too late, and could serve as preparation for mounting the Dekalog. He does give a poignant sketch of world, one where tethers have snapped and released people into aimless orbits and meaningless actions. A cat being hanged by kids is the first image that greets us.A man, two men, wander around the city, one as the other's mirrored parallel life, both unsatisfied. One is waiting to become a lawyer, a life of order awaits him where stories reach a verdict that decides right and wrong but he questions these answers. The other has no story ahead of him, wanders around with nothing to do, becomes mischievous for no reason, debases his own food, chases away pigeons out of reaction.This is all so we can revisit him later in a prison cell and know him now as someone's brother. The idea is that behind the facade of meaningless violence lies a human being broken by a callous whim of chance, a sister that died one day and something snapped.I prefer here the opening sketch of a twilight world, with people going down empty streets, peering here and there as if to find a crack that leads out somewhere or back in. The morality play is too simple for my taste; as simple as the legal system it chastises that just wants to wrap up a case.The effortless ease with which Kieslowski sketches that world tells me this is something that has already began to take form as worldview and that he's going to expand as he goes. This is an expanded entry from Dekalog which I'm going to visit in the coming days.But right away I leave with this contrast; a world that breathes around a protagonist who walks through it and suggests open threads that come back, and the desire to narrow down these threads into a room (the prison cell) where all this breath becomes words that explain. The latter is too convenient here, the former abstract enough to interest me. Now onwards to Love.

An understated gem from Krzysztof Kieslowski. On the surface a movie about crime and punishment, but it is more an examination of the appropriateness and humaneness of the death penalty. Who is really the killer? Also briefly tackles fate, and decisions.The plot is well-developed, with the main characters involved and their lives being introduced well before the crucial point in the movie. The tale is enhanced, if not entirely made, by the cinematography. It seems cheap, or outdated, but the rather lo fi imagery is perfect for the movie, giving it a grim, gritty feel.Solid performances all round.

As with many Kieslowski films it starts slowly and one can be tempted to give up but it is never a good idea as most Kieslowski films end up leaving you changed should you watch them to the end. This one did not disappoint. "A Short Film about Killing" is not any easy film. There are graphic scenes. While this film made me disgusted by the brutality of the main characters senseless act the brutality of the state also disgusted me. Though I felt no empathy towards the young man I was repulsed by the state's behaviour. Brutal murder does not negate brutal murder. All the state does when it kills someone as retribution is increase the murder rate. I recommend this film. Kieslowski deals with brutality in a far less morally high handed way than Michael Hanneke does and, I think, his message is all the stronger for it.

Dead cats, dead rats, rusting vehicles and dilapidated buildings...Kieslowski's "A Short Film About Killing" opens with supreme bleakness. Everything that follows is equally grim, from Kieslowski's subject matter, to his characters, to his cinematography itself. Indeed, often entire chunks of Kieslowski's frame are smudged in grime, the director using over six hundred green filters to convey an ambiance of decay and gloom.The plot? Twenty year old Jacek is a seemingly normal young man. We watch as he goes through his day, wandering around town but rarely interacting with anyone. Gradually we sense that something is wrong with Jacek. He bumps violently into a group of people, throws a rock off a bridge and ominously plays with a piece of rope. Then suddenly, without warning, Jacek murders a cab driver. The murder is apparently the longest in film history, lasting over 7 minutes.Jacek is captured by the police and tried. An idealistic lawyer named Piotr is tasked with defending him, but Piotr fails and Jacek is given the death sentence. Before the execution, the young criminal spends some time in a cell with his attorney, telling fragments of his life. He paints a miserable picture, but we never quite sympathise with him. Maybe we shouldn't. Moments later he is sentenced to death. We watch for long minutes (5mins) as the state kills Jacek.Whilst it is Kieslowski's intent to contrast and compare the two murders - both actions are brutal, senseless and barbaric - it's hard to gauge his moral position, or indeed if he is attempting to offer any. Is it wrong to kill, no matter who does the killing? If death is the highest form of violence, is capitalism punishment itself unjust?7.5/10 - A slow and bleak film, which worked much better as a 1 hour segment in Dekalog. The film is ripe with symbolism (it begins with a dead rat, then a dead cat, then a dog, then a man, then a murderer, then a state lawyer- ie cycle of killers, preys and predators) and has some nice brooding cinematography, but doesn't ask enough questions: What instigated Jacek's actions? How can we help people like Jacek more effectively? How can we prevent these causes? Is a percentage of society simply doomed, by circumstance, to "malfunction"? Do we treat this malfunction by killing them and ridding ourselves of the problem?