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Blind Chance

Original title: Przypadek
  • 1987
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
11K
YOUR RATING
Blind Chance (1987)
Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.
Play trailer1:21
1 Video
46 Photos
DramaRomance

Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.

  • Director
    • Krzysztof Kieslowski
  • Writer
    • Krzysztof Kieslowski
  • Stars
    • Boguslaw Linda
    • Tadeusz Lomnicki
    • Zbigniew Zapasiewicz
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    11K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Krzysztof Kieslowski
    • Writer
      • Krzysztof Kieslowski
    • Stars
      • Boguslaw Linda
      • Tadeusz Lomnicki
      • Zbigniew Zapasiewicz
    • 37User reviews
    • 33Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:21
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos46

    Boguslaw Linda and Jerzy Stuhr in Blind Chance (1987)
    Krzysztof Kieslowski in Blind Chance (1987)
    Boguslaw Linda and Tadeusz Lomnicki in Blind Chance (1987)
    Monika Gozdzik and Boguslaw Linda in Blind Chance (1987)
    Boguslaw Linda in Blind Chance (1987)
    Boguslaw Linda in Blind Chance (1987)
    Boguslaw Linda in Blind Chance (1987)
    Boguslaw Linda in Blind Chance (1987)
    Blind Chance (1987)
    Boguslaw Linda and Marzena Trybala in Blind Chance (1987)
    Boguslaw Linda and Jerzy Stuhr in Blind Chance (1987)
    Monika Gozdzik in Blind Chance (1987)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Boguslaw Linda
    Boguslaw Linda
    • Witek Dlugosz
    Tadeusz Lomnicki
    Tadeusz Lomnicki
    • 1. Werner
    Zbigniew Zapasiewicz
    Zbigniew Zapasiewicz
    • 1. Adam
    Boguslawa Pawelec
    Boguslawa Pawelec
    • 1. Czuszka
    Marzena Trybala
    Marzena Trybala
    • 2. Werka
    Jacek Borkowski
    Jacek Borkowski
    • 2. Marek
    Jacek Sas-Uhrynowski
    Jacek Sas-Uhrynowski
    • 2. Daniel
    Adam Ferency
    Adam Ferency
    • 2. Ksiadz Stefan
    Irena Byrska
    Irena Byrska
    • 2. Ciotka
    Monika Gozdzik
    • 3. Olga
    Zygmunt Hübner
    Zygmunt Hübner
    • 3. Dziekan
    Kazimiera Nogajówna
    • Kasia, znajoma ojca Witka
    Jerzy Stuhr
    Jerzy Stuhr
    • dzialacz ZSMP
    Krzysztof Kalczynski
    Krzysztof Kalczynski
    • mez Werki
    • (uncredited)
    Aleksander Mikolajczak
    Aleksander Mikolajczak
    • dzialacz ZSMP
    • (uncredited)
    Jolanta Nowinska
      Krzysztof Zaleski
      Krzysztof Zaleski
      • Buzek
      • (uncredited)
      • Director
        • Krzysztof Kieslowski
      • Writer
        • Krzysztof Kieslowski
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        Although the movie was made in 1981, it had its premiere in 1987. The delay was because of state-imposed censorship due to the film's political content.
      • Quotes

        1. Werner: I intend to give you my current thoughts on an idea I've been committed to for 40 years. Every generation yearns for light. It needs reassurance and faith that the world can be better and a fairer place. This yearning which is older than Marx and younger than Marx, is like a drug. Early in life it brings joy, because the light seems so near and within reach. At life's end it brings bitterness, because the light has grown once again. In these 40 years I've lived through many things and the light seems further away than ever before, and thus I shouldn't encourage you, but you can be sure of one thing: without bitterness and this hope, life would be pitiful indeed.

      • Alternate versions
        The film was scheduled for release in 1981, but was suppressed by the Polish government due to its criticism of Communist regime. The film was eventually released in 1987 with some of the politically sensitive material cut (these cuts totalling roughly 9 minutes). The film has since been released in a uncut form, however one of the scenes involving Witek being beaten by the train guard remains lost.
      • Connections
        Featured in Century of Cinema: 100 lat w kinie (1995)

      User reviews37

      Review
      Review
      Featured review
      6/10
      An Ambitious Specimen and a Deterministic Dirge
      Blind Chance is at once a morality tale, an ambitious specimen of philosophy, and a vacuous deterministic dirge. Within the first thirty minutes we're introduced to Polish medical student Witek Dlugosz (Linda) who is attempting to catch a train to the belabored strings of Wojciech Kilar's soundtrack. He passes crowds and obstacles including a elderly woman and a man drinking a beer. The film then prongs into three possible outcomes, each dramatically changing the young students life. In one scenario he catches the train and becomes a member of the Polish communist party. In another, he misses the train, runs into the railway guard, is arrested and joins an anti-communist student group. In the third scenario, Witek misses the train but bumps into his lady friend Olga (Gozdnik), they live a life of apolitical domesticity before tragedy strikes.

      I don't feel it's a spoiler to alert the audience that in all three scenarios tragedy strikes. In fact tragedy strikes so often that the fatalism imbued throughout made me wonder what the fellow with the beer was up to. Even the events before the fated train ride has Witek's father passing away. In each scenario Witek comes across three possible lovers and three possible father figures, all of which force Witek to accept a version of truth in bad faith and he always ends up damaged goods.

      And who is Witek for that matter? What foundations do we have to truly know a person whose deeply felt political beliefs can be so drastically changed by the catching of a train? We get a quiet moment with Witek and love interest #2 Werka (Trybala) where Witek retells the history of his family; how his great-grandfather took part in an uprising or how his grandfather fought the soviets etc. Yet even in a moment of heart-to-heart we're always calculating where Witek's place is in the larger picture, unable to grasp at what would otherwise be an emotional scene. There's a ring of hollowness to everything he does simply because we're always aware he's chained to his fate. He's not so much a character as he is a vessel for Kieslowski's cold and cobbled thought experiment. Thus when we get to the nexus of Kieslowski's political message, the structure with which it's based on falls apart.

      While being a thought experiment, the film does give it's audience a pretty interesting tour of post-martial-law Poland. In the late 70's and early 80's pro-democracy movements sprouted all throughout the countryside. In 1980, the largest group was Solidarity, a self- governing labor union that at one point constituted one third of the total working population of the country. The single party communist state saw Solidarity and various student movements as threats to their power and on December 1981, Poland banned such organizations, instilled a curfew in major cities and sealed national borders. While martial law lasted until 1983, the resilience of opposition activists led to flagrant and open protests in the mid and late 80's. We all know what happened next. If you're looking for a much more comprehensive history lesson, may I suggest Andrzej Wajda's Man of Marble (1976) and Man of Iron (1981). As it stands Blind Chance's clever inserts of contemporary history are just that, clever inserts.

      Amid the history and the slow, prosaic plot lies a strong political statement that has been completely undermined by the film's framework. I expected the somber humanism that made the Colors Trilogy (1993- 1994) so engrossing yet what I got was the blunted causal pessimism that similarly plagues A Short Film About Killing (1988) of it's message. Don't fall for the hype on this one.
      helpful•12
      3
      • bkrauser-81-311064
      • Jul 18, 2016

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      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • January 10, 1987 (Poland)
      • Country of origin
        • Poland
      • Languages
        • Polish
        • Danish
      • Also known as
        • Der Zufall - möglicherweise
      • Filming locations
        • Poland
      • Production company
        • Zespol Filmowy "Tor"
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        1 hour 54 minutes
      • Color
        • Color
      • Sound mix
        • Mono
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.66 : 1

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