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Refrain

Original title: Refren
  • 19721972
  • 11m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
320
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • IMDbPro
Refren (1972)
  • Documentary
  • Short
Bureaucracy lives on even after somebody's death, as you can see from the example of an ordinary Warsaw funeral parlour.Bureaucracy lives on even after somebody's death, as you can see from the example of an ordinary Warsaw funeral parlour.Bureaucracy lives on even after somebody's death, as you can see from the example of an ordinary Warsaw funeral parlour.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
320
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Krzysztof Kieslowski
  • Writer
    • Krzysztof Kieslowski
Top credits
  • Director
    • Krzysztof Kieslowski
  • Writer
    • Krzysztof Kieslowski
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
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    Storyline

    Edit
    Bureaucracy lives on even after somebody's death, as you can see from the example of an ordinary Warsaw funeral parlour.
    • bureaucracy
    • death
    • civil servant
    • rule
    • passport
    • 3 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Genres
      • Documentary
      • Short
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    User reviews2

    Review
    Top review
    Life and death by-the-numbers
    Though this film illustrates how death has been reduced to 'The Numbers' it is implied at the end that both life and death have been reduced to the numbers. This film is uniquely shot from the point-of-view of the bureaucrats whose job it is to deregistrant the living to give their survivors permission to buy things like graves, coffins etc. The first image is of tearing out the pictures from identity books. It seems to be some weirdly arcane quasi-religious ritual whose purpose is at once obvious and inexplicable.

    The frisson of this film is having the usual bureaucratic rigmarole, petty rules and arbitrary specifications implemented by some not so very terrible people, come up against people at their most vulnerable and emotional condition. These people have just had a loved one die and they are being dealt with by the book, by the numbers.

    Background music, when its heard, is a harpsichord concerto.
    helpful•9
    1
    • max von meyerling
    • Apr 6, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • 1972 (Poland)
    • Country of origin
      • Poland
    • Language
      • Polish
    • Also known as
      • Refren
    • Filming locations
      • Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland
    • Production company
      • Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych (WFDiF)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      11 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

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