Krótki film o zabijaniu (1988)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writers:

Krzysztof Kieslowski (writer)
Krzysztof Piesiewicz (writer)

Release Date:

26 October 1988 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

The plot couldn't be simpler or its attack on capital punishment (and the act of killing in general) more direct - a senseless...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Capital Punishment | Execution | Lawyer | Polish

Awards:

7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Miroslaw Baka	...	Jacek Lazar
Krzysztof Globisz	...	Piotr Balicki (Advocate)
Jan Tesarz	...	Waldemar Rekowski (Taxi driver)
Zbigniew Zapasiewicz	...	Przewodniczacy Komisji
Barbara Dziekan	...	Bileterka
Aleksander Bednarz	...	Kat
Jerzy Zass	...	Naczelnik
Zdzislaw Tobiasz	...	Judge
Artur Barcis	...	Young Man
Krystyna Janda	...	Dorota
Olgierd Lukaszewicz	...	Andrzej
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leonard Andrzejewski
Wieslaw Bednarz
Zbigniew Borek
Ryszard W. Borsucki
Wladyslaw Byrdy
Andrzej Gawronski
Iwona Glebicka
Henryk Guzek
Elzbieta Helman	...	Beatka
Boguslaw Hubicki
N. Kowalczykowa
Henryk Lapinski
Krzysztof Luft
Maciej Maciejewski	...	Prosecutor
Marzena Manteska
Borys Marynowski
Andrzej Mastalerz
Marlena Miarczynska
Jolanta Mielech
Bogdan Niewinowski
Malgorzata Pieczynska
Lech Pietrasz
Zbigniew Plato
Zdzislaw Rychter
Krzysztof Stelmaszyk
Cezary Switkowski
Maciej Szary
Alicja Wolska

Also Known As:

A Short Film About Killing (International: English title)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA (original rating) | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Krakowskie Przedmiescie, Warsaw, Poland

Company:

Zespol Filmowy "Tor"

Trivia:

Kieslowski's graphic depiction of the effects of violence so shook up the Polish authorities that they declared a five year moratorium on capital punishment.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Man yan (2004)

One of the best films of the last 20 years

A Short Film About Killing is Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's feature length adaptation of the hour long piece belonging to the Dekalog series, a collection of modern representations of the ten commandments set in a socio-realist Warsaw in Poland. This film, 'thou shalt not kill', is a film essentially about two separate 'murders'. Jacek, a young adolescent, kills an innocent taxi driver in a seemingly motiveless crime for which he is tried and executed at the hands of the state.

Inherently simple in terms of its plot, A Short Film About Killing is a complex indictment on all forms of killing, whether in the form of an act of brutal murder, or an organised and legal murder wrapped in the arms of the law. Kieslowski, clearly inspired by the human-issues documentary movement in the 70's, has presented the film as a bleak and depressing reality. Filmed on location, the run down post-cold war communist Warsaw in Poland provides a cold and melancholic back drop to the film. The documentary feel of the film is intensified by the way it is filmed, with no tracking or dolly shots, just an observing camera placing us, the undiscerning viewer right in the thick of it. This can make the affect of the scenes in the film somewhat sickening at times, however it was clearly intended by Kieslowski, who wanted to show how disgusting murder is. The subtle green filter used on the camera, gives the celluloid a dreary appearance, pertaining to the bleak mood of the film. This minimalistic photography allows us to focus on the detailed reactions and actions of the characters in the film, which come to a horrifying climax during both murder sequences, probably two of the most superbly executed murder sequences ever committed to film.

Kieslowski doesn't try to explain Jacek's murder because he clearly wants to avoid condoning it with motives that might make the audience feel sorry for him. Instead, Kieslowski simply presents Jacek's execution as a counterpoint to the murder of the taxi driver, thus forcing us to compare the the horrific nature of both acts, revealing the crux of the film. The first murder in the back of the taxi is with out a doubt horrific, but the execution is just as unforgivable, illustrating that although legal, capital punishment is devoid of humanity and veracity, in all the same ways as cold blooded murder itself. It is a brilliant illustration of the failings and contradictory nature of capital punishment, which replicate the actions of a murderer instead of upholding justice.

It was clearly the intention of Kieslowski to underline this in his film. He believed, like many others, that capital punishment has no place in the 20th century. I wouldn't be surprised if many who start this film as pro capital punishment, end up strongly against it by the time the credits roll. If this sounds too presumptuous, then consider the fact that A Short Film About Killing led to the suspension of capital Punishment in Poland. This surely proves the power of the film.