My first Krzysztof Kieslowski film, another director I’ve heard of but haven’t checked out until now. I’ll admit, when I first started watching this film, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be into it or not. By about the midway point, however, it definitely proved itself and ended up being a very interesting look at the different paths that life can take, for both better and worse. It’s going to be interesting to try and explain the plot on this one, but I’ll give it my best shot.
We follow Witek, who starts off the film screaming on an airplane. This then transitions into a truncated montage of his life, with scenes like his birth on a hospital floor among several wounded and bloody patients, him as a child learning academics as well as listening in on a political conversation, him as a teenager dating a gal named Czuszka, and finally him as a college student in medical school dating a different gal named Olga. Witek seems to have been pushed into medical study by his father, who wants him to become a doctor and make something of himself. Witek is at odds with the set-path he’s been given, but his father doesn’t really consider his views on the matter. However, everything changes when his father dies, as just before he passes on, he calls Witek and tells him that he doesn’t have to “be anything” anymore. What seems on the surface to be a freeing gesture actually ends up sending Witek into a crisis, and he takes a leave of absence from his schooling, having “lost his vocation,” as he puts it. He rushes over to the train station and runs after a train heading for Warsaw. He manages to grab the handle on the last car and pulls himself up. On the train, he meets a man named Werner, who turns out to be an old Communist who used to do spy work for “the party.” As he grows closer to Werner, he becomes inspired to join the Communists and rubs shoulders with one of their higher-ups, Adam. At around the same time, he meets back up with Czuszka and they rekindle their old relationship. Czuszka seems to be at odds with Witek’s politics, however, but she at least seems to be willing to help him with connections to some activists that she knows. Witek gains more favor in the party after he takes down a protest/sit-in at a hospital, pleasing Adam, who is skeptical of Witek’s relationship with Czuszka, but has enough confidence in him to send him to France on a mission. Things seem to be going well for Witek, but as shown by what happens next, politics give as much as they take away (and sometimes more). However, I won’t tell you what happens to him here, as this is actually only one possibility of what could happen to him after the train scene. We cut back to that very scene, only to this time see him run right into a security guard as the train leaves the station. This results in an altercation between him and the guard, which leads to him being arrested and sentenced to unpaid community service. While on one of these services, he meets a man who’s involved with the anti-Communist resistance who takes Witek into their fold. He helps them out with various tasks, including silk-screening their pamphlets, and also holds gatherings in his apartment, much to his aunt’s annoyance (she lives in the same building). He also becomes a newly baptized Christian and meets up with his old friend Daniel and his sister Wera. He and Wera develop some sort of feelings for each other, but around this time, Witek tries to get a passport so that he can go to France. This seems a bit familiar, doesn’t it. Well, again, I’ll keep mum, because we have another possibility to consider. In this final scenario, Witek fails to catch the train, but Olga is at the station waiting for him. He reconciles with her and, after thinking things over, decides to go back to his medical studies and see them through to the end. He achieves his diploma, becomes a rather successful doctor/medical professor, marries Olga, and has a son with her. Things seem to be going pretty well for Witek, though he has decided to avoid politics altogether, not joining the party or the resistance, or even signing a petition in favor of the dean’s son (who was caught selling illegal books). The dean ends up asking Witek to take on a teaching job in Libya, one that was meant for the dean himself, but who is now too old to try and take on the task. The dean warns Witek that, given the way politics are headed, there’s a good chance he may never be able to return, but Witek takes on the job anyway. Interestingly, the flight has a layover in France. I’ll leave it at that for now, because we need to discuss what this film is going for.
When I first started watching this film, I wasn’t really getting into it. There was something about the vibe that gave off this impression of dry yet dull drama. Admittedly, there’s a consistent gray sort of color scheme or tint on the film for a lot of the runtime, and the music in the opening section felt like it was really trying to play up the dramatics, so I thought I was in for something that tries to make me feel its emotions but would never actually make me connect with them. Thankfully, I was very wrong, especially once I figured out what the film was doing. The played-up drama settles down after the intro scenes and the rest of the film hits the right tonality of being bleakly depressing but still engaging. Actually, on that note, it’s interesting how this film has a bleak vibe, but it’s a different sort of bleakness from, say, the Nordic countries. Scandinavian bleakness tends to come across as atmospherically muted yet still weighted and firm, while this film’s bleakness almost feels depressing or like you’re trapped in a situation with little hope. I haven’t seen enough Polish cinema to know if this is common in their film-making or not, but given all the things that have happened to them over the years, and the fact that this was made during the Soviet years, I can see why that sort of tone would be prescient for them. Honestly, it very much goes along with the main ideas of this film, as it’s basically a comment on being torn between, not just different life paths, but different political ideologies. From what I understand, this film was made at a time when Poland was reckoning with its current situation under the USSR, and I can definitely believe that. Witek, feeling like he’s lost the life path that’s been set up for him over the years, essentially becomes wayward and lost, searching for some new meaning. As often happens to folks that feel lost, he falls in with socio/religious/political groups in the two main scenarios, in order to feel like he has a purpose and a place to belong to again. Sadly, though belonging to a political group can give you a feeling of comfort, and even power, things can turn south on you just as easily, depending on what the group wants you to do, who you associate with outside of said group, or even just the ever-changing political climate itself. Both of these scenarios going south gives reasoning for Witek to go back to the life he already had and avoid taking sides altogether in the final scenario. However, as you might imagine, taking no sides and living for yourself and your family doesn’t guarantee a safe and full life either. Frustratingly, I can’t get into the endings of any of these stories, since it feels like I would be spoiling big elements of the film. I can say, though, that the film does subtly contextualize the varying scenarios in a subtle yet relatable way. As I was watching the second storyline, my initial thought, in terms of the reasoning for having these alternate scenarios, was that we might be looking at his actual potentialities from an third-person perspective, as if the audience is privy to the multiverse of Witek’s existence (not literally, of course, just in a storytelling sense). However, small remarks made by certain characters in these stories clued me in that what we might actually seeing is his thought process. To me, Witek is considering the possible life directions he could take as he’s running after the train. They never directly tell you this, but some of the characters in the stories bring up information about Witek that he never told them. These moments are quick and never elaborated upon, but they definitely add credence to the idea that this is all a mental exercise. The scenarios being in his head helps to give the presentation a more personal and even relatable quality, as it demonstrates his inner longing for purpose and love (he gets involved with a woman in each scenario) and can relate to the audience’s experiences with envisioning potential roads that they could take in life. Given how the film ends, I’m inclined to believe that the third scenario might actually be real, and that would make sense, as nine times out of ten, most people would choose to go back to a more normal life and not dive into a world of radical politics. I don’t mean to impose too much of my own interpretation on you, but I just wanted to try and get across how the film came off to me. Overall, I quite enjoyed the film and thought it was well-handled and interesting. I’m coming to the end of our time for this week, so I’ll wrap things up here.
Admittedly, I actually bought several Kieslowski films from Criterion without seeing them beforehand, so I was a little concerned if my purchase was going to be worth it or not. Having watched Blind Chance, I think I made the right choice, and am looking forward to watching/featuring more of his work in the future. Until then, I recommend you folks check out Blind Chance. It does a great job with its concept and story, and I think it will win you over even if you start out skeptical about it. Hats off to our first Polish film on the blog, and I’ll see you all next week.