Blind Chance (1987)

Blind Chance (Przypadek, 1981) is the first of Kieslowski's films to trade upon explicitly religious themes and seems to mark the beginning of the great director's turn toward introspection and the spiritual realm that so characterizes his later work (especially Decalogue and the Three Colors trilogy). The Polish title could be literally translated "coincidence," an appropriate if possibly ironic title for a three-part film about a young man whose life course appears to be solely determined by his ability or inability to catch a train. Kieslowski has his doubts about such coincidences, for he described the film as "a description of the powers which meddle with our fate, which push us one way or another" (Kieslowski on Kieslowski, ed. Danusia Stok 113). Incidentally, this film inspired Peter Howitt's film Sliding Doors (1998) and Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run (1998), but to my mind, Kieslowski's is a superior film. The original tends to be the best, and he is a true original.

Fmovies: What difference does a fraction of a second make? In baseball, it's the difference between a home run and strike three.

In the Olympics, it's the difference between a gold medal and 10th place.

In the movie Blind Chance, it's the difference of a lifetime.

An example of expert craftsmanship by Krzysztof Kieslowski, Blind Chance affords us the rare opportunity to see how a blip in time, a mere split second, can profoundly affect a person's current situation, and the path their life will take from that moment forward.

While the significance of sliced seconds is shown, we get to enjoy some quality time with the communist party, the anti-communist underground, some lovely ladies sans attire, and a mob of disgruntled drug addicts. We are also treated to one or more Slinkies going down stairs alone or in pairs. Indeed, it's quite a blend of characters, motives, and ideologies. However, it is not the point of the film to take sides, make moral statements, or ponder idealistic philosophies. The point is merely to illustrate its premise.

Let there be no doubt that the premise is more than adequately served. From top to bottom, beginning to end, Blind Chance is a fantastic film, an entertaining drama that encourages thought, while not being overbearing.

Just be sure to pay close attention, because a fraction of a second can also be the difference between understanding this film and missing the point entirely.

This is no doubt one of my most favorite films of all times. It has a great screenplay filled with powerful and true characters. The cast is just great. And the gloomy atmosphere of our country back in the seventies...

The only flaw that I can think of is the fact that this film is probably very hard to understand for non-Poles as it is so very... Polish. And although the message the movie tries to convey seems to be more universal, you probably cannot get the whole of it if you were not born in a country located between Russia and Germany.

And if you compare this one to last year Peter Howitt's flick "Sliding Doors"... See how films of similar content can differ?

Blind Chance fmovies. 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 engrossi

When seeing this movie I had 3 disadvantages: I am not Polish so I could not completeley identify with the scenario. I do not speak Polish and I lost a lot on the poor english translation that is not even my native language. Lastly, it was very late in the night and I was exhausted.

Yet, this is probably one of my all time favorite movies eventhough I am not a loyal Kieslowski fan. The subject of the movie is what makes the whole difference. A very interesting issue about life that I am sure is bothering a lot of people in the world. Very human plot with a lot of symbolic scenes. Do not expect to fully grasp the idea by watching it only once. And absolutely do no refrain from watching this movie at all, if you are a serious movie watcher. I give it a very enthusiastic 10.

In 1981 in the troubled Poland, when the father of the medical student Wietold Dlugosz (Boguslaw Linda) dies, he asks one year leave to the dean of the university to rethink his vocation to medicine. He decides to travel to Warsaw, but while running after the train in the station, three possible events happen. In the first possibility, Witek reaches the train, meets his former sweetheart Czuszka (Boguslawa Pawelec) that belongs to an Anti-Communist underground movement and joins the Party after saving hostages of protesters in a building. In the second possibility, Witek is caught by a guard in the station while running to catch the train and reacts, being sent to the court and sentenced to thirty days of community work. He joins the group of students that are against the system, publishing papers in an underground press. While his comrades are arrested by the government agents, Witek is having a love affair with the sister of a childhood friend and escapes from prison; however, his former companions believe he is a traitor. On the third possibility, Witek does not reach the train and decides to return to the university and conclude the medicine course. He marries his girlfriend Olga (Monika Gozdzik) and they graduate in the medical school. They become successful doctors and Witek accepts to travel to Paris to present the lecture of the dean, who was disgraced with the Party when his son was arrested in a movement against the government. The three serendipities do not bring happiness to Witek.

The original "Przypadek" discloses three possible lives of the lead character Wietold Dlugosz in the turmoil of Poland in the early 80's. The beginning of the movie is a little confused and even boring since there is no previous development of the characters or the political environment of Poland in that moment. However, the plot becomes clearer and engaging when Witek runs to catch the train. The first movie that I recall showing alternative life is certainly Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946). However, Krzysztof Kieslowski uses a totally different context in his story, but later in 1998, Tom Twyker with "Run Lola Run" and Peter Howitt with "Sliding Doors" made rip-offs of Kieslowski's idea. This theme is very attractive since most of the people have certainly had at least one daydream supposing what if he or she had made a different choice in life in the past. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Acaso" ("Chance")