No End (1985)
"Bez konca" (original title)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writers:

Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz

Stars:

Grazyna Szapolowska, Maria Pakulnis, Aleksander Bardini

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Grazyna Szapolowska	...	Urszula Zyro
Maria Pakulnis	...	Joanna Stach
Aleksander Bardini	...	Lawyer Mieczyslaw Labrador
Jerzy Radziwilowicz	...	Antek Zyro
Artur Barcis	...	Darek Stach
Michal Bajor	...	Miecio (aplikant)
Marek Kondrat	...	Tomek, Antek's friend
Tadeusz Bradecki	...	Hipnotyzator
Danny Webb	...	American (as Daniel Webb)
Krzysztof Krzeminski	...	Jacek Zyro
Marzena Trybala	...	Marta Duraj
Adam Ferency	...	Rumcajs
Elzbieta Kilarska	...	Antoni's Mother
Jerzy Kamas	...	Judge Biedron
Hanna Dunowska	...	Justyna

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

solidarity | grief | sex | hypnosis | poland | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish English

Release Date:

17 June 1985 (Poland)

Also Known As:

No End

Company Credits

Production Co:

P.P. Film Polski

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Superb performances as usual

Mesmerising, if only for the performance by Grazyna Szapolowska as the widow who moves through the film and ignites every scene. Beautiful and tragic at once she emanates power over the audience and one cannot turn away. I had not realised how much this film must have influenced some established mainstream films that we assume to be original. Obviously many of them owe a great debt to this story. Told unflinchingly by Kieslowski in a unshowy manner it still demonstrates moments of brilliant insights into the human condition. The pain and torture we must endure after such heartache runs through the the heart of this film. I particularly liked the little moments as always, such as the glass slipping through her fingers, the dog trying to get in the car, the dirt on her hands from the bumper whilst witnessing the accident, the hypnotherapy session where she sees him. All simple and yet so elegant. No hammering it through to the audience with big signposting saying 'Remember this for later!'. Why don't more films treat the audience with a tiny bit more intelligence or is the majority of film going to assume we are all thick. And just because a film is mainstream doesn't mean it has to be low brow. Godfather, Deer Hunter, French Connection? Very strong films? If you see this also see Amator.