(Spoilers) Magda's apartment is across a courtyard from Tomek's. Outside of working as a clerk in the local post office Tomek's main passion is spying on Magda through his telescope. As shy as he is, he is driven by his obsession to establish contact with Magda.
I view this movie as more of a parable than as a believable drama. Would Magda leave all of her windows curtain-less? Would she not flee her stalker?
At first I fluctuated between being made very uncomfortable by Tomel's voyeurism, but came to understand that his obsession arose from an immature concept of love as platonic--he answers "no" to Magda's questioning if he wants to kiss her or have sex with her. Magda is coming from the opposite position of feeling that love does not exist, only sex.
In the intense crucial scene where Magda gently seduces Tomek by merely placing his hands on her thighs, Tomek is stimulated to the point of having an orgasm while still fully clothed. This so shatters his concept of love, and of himself, that he runs away and later attempts suicide.
On Magda's side, when she comes to understand just how powerfully Tomek felt about her, she realizes that her feelings for him have been more than sexual.
Had both Tomek and Magda come at their encounter with the idea that love has both platonic and sexual aspects, then maybe they could have had something meaningful between them. The movie ends with Magda envisioning what could have been.
Zbigniew Preisner's rather sentimental and repetitive score is a bit of a departure from his more commonly operatic formalism, but effective nonetheless, with the themes reflecting the storyline.
I view this movie as more of a parable than as a believable drama. Would Magda leave all of her windows curtain-less? Would she not flee her stalker?
At first I fluctuated between being made very uncomfortable by Tomel's voyeurism, but came to understand that his obsession arose from an immature concept of love as platonic--he answers "no" to Magda's questioning if he wants to kiss her or have sex with her. Magda is coming from the opposite position of feeling that love does not exist, only sex.
In the intense crucial scene where Magda gently seduces Tomek by merely placing his hands on her thighs, Tomek is stimulated to the point of having an orgasm while still fully clothed. This so shatters his concept of love, and of himself, that he runs away and later attempts suicide.
On Magda's side, when she comes to understand just how powerfully Tomek felt about her, she realizes that her feelings for him have been more than sexual.
Had both Tomek and Magda come at their encounter with the idea that love has both platonic and sexual aspects, then maybe they could have had something meaningful between them. The movie ends with Magda envisioning what could have been.
Zbigniew Preisner's rather sentimental and repetitive score is a bit of a departure from his more commonly operatic formalism, but effective nonetheless, with the themes reflecting the storyline.