Koncert zyczen (1967)

Director:

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writer:

Krzysztof Kieslowski (writer)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

A young couple leave a lake campsite on motorbike at the same time as a bus full of youths. The boy...

Cast

Ryszard Dembinski
Jerzy Fedorowicz
Ewa Konarska
Waldemar Korzeniowski
Roman Talarczyk
Andrzej Titkow

Also Known As:

Concert of Requests (Hong Kong: English title)
Concert of Wishes (USA) (literal English title)

Runtime:

16 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Color:

Black and White

Company:

Lodz Film School

Didn't really do anything for me I'm afraid

A young man and his girlfriend are staying at a camp site near to where a group of other young men are all camped together. The busload of boys leave first but, having packed all their stuff away, the couple pass them on their motorbike – ignoring their catcalls on the way. The couple soon realize that they have dropped their tent somewhere on the road and turn back to look for it – only to find that the busload of boys has stopped and found it first. The boys make a simple proposal – the tent in exchange for the girl.

The plot summary makes it sound interesting and it was enough to make me interested enough to give it a go but really I must say I was left wondering what I had just spent 15 minutes of my time on. I'm sure fans of Kieslowski will come after me for daring to suggest that this but this is just not very good! The direction is good in that it is quite well shot with plenty to hold the eye. However, substance-wise there is not a great deal going on here – there is stuff that is so out of place that I'm sure it was meant to mean something, but goodness only knows what. The overall narrative has no real meaning either and nothing really happens – I'm sure it is all meant to mean something in the context of the couple's relationship but if it did it certainly did a very good job of keeping it a secret!

The cast are OK and seem natural enough but there is no real material for them to work with and none of them have any characters – a problem that can sometimes occur where the script is more interested in what the characters represent than who they are in themselves. Generally the boys just shout and act like a mass rather than individuals who can be picked out.

Overall a disappointing short film that left me with nothing at all after I had watched it. The plot is very simple but isn't anywhere near as interesting as it sounds and the meaning that I assume was there is so well hidden that I must admit I found it to be almost without meaning or point. A shame but happily it was from a director who got a lot better and more interesting as he went on.