Best known for his 'Decalogue' and 'Three Colors Trilogy' Krzysztof Kieslowski isn't really thought of as an overtly political film-maker but his 1987 "Blind Chance" is a deeply political film but also one that is as emotionally intense as the largely humanistic films that followed it. It is, in fact, three stories in one with Witek, (an excellent Boguslaw Linda), the hero in each as he strives to be the maker of his own destiny.
Each begins with Witek, a medical student, racing to catch a train. In the first he catches it, (barely), meets an elderly communist and becomes a party member and then finds his ideals put to the test when he falls in with a group of radicals. In the second scenario he misses the train, having knocked over a guard and is arrested, leading to his involvement with the underground and with religion and in the third he again misses his train but this time stays with the woman he loves, marries, continues his studies and becomes a doctor.
The idea isn't new, of course, though usually it's the stuff of romantic comedy but Kieslowski's genius is to show how such a seemingly random act can have such a profound effect on an individual's life and how love, faith and politics can be so irrevocably intertwined. The ideas presented are undeniably complex and yet Kieslowski makes it all look so simple and the end result is really quite extraordinary. This isn't just a key work in the Kieslowski canon but one of the best Polish films of the last forty years or so.
Each begins with Witek, a medical student, racing to catch a train. In the first he catches it, (barely), meets an elderly communist and becomes a party member and then finds his ideals put to the test when he falls in with a group of radicals. In the second scenario he misses the train, having knocked over a guard and is arrested, leading to his involvement with the underground and with religion and in the third he again misses his train but this time stays with the woman he loves, marries, continues his studies and becomes a doctor.
The idea isn't new, of course, though usually it's the stuff of romantic comedy but Kieslowski's genius is to show how such a seemingly random act can have such a profound effect on an individual's life and how love, faith and politics can be so irrevocably intertwined. The ideas presented are undeniably complex and yet Kieslowski makes it all look so simple and the end result is really quite extraordinary. This isn't just a key work in the Kieslowski canon but one of the best Polish films of the last forty years or so.