Films, Talks & Events
De films van Kieślowski
Krzysztof Kieślowski (1941 - 1996)
18 January — 1 March 2023
still from Trois couleurs: Rouge (Krzysztof Kieslowski, FR/PL/CH 1994)
His successful films La double vie de Véronique as well as his Trois couleurs trilogy featuring French stars Irène Jacob, Juliette Binoche and Julie Delpy revolve around kinship, identity and coincidence.
Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski broke through internationally with his ten-part series Dekalog, which examined the meaning of the Ten Commandments for modern humans.
still from La double vie de Véronique (Krzysztof Kieslowski, FR/PL 1991)
still from No End (Krzysztof Kieslowski, PL 1984)
Krzysztof Kieślowski is seen as one of the most influential filmmakers of the ’80s and ’90s, whose wide-ranging oeuvre still inspires filmmakers today. Time and again, Kieślowski (1941-1996) tells the story of a person who doesn’t know the difference between good and evil, and is desperately searching for an answer.
He also recorded everyday life in Communist Poland in sharply observed documentaries. His compelling films stand out thanks to their ingenious screenplays and exceptional cinematography. In Blind Chance, for example, he serves up three different outcomes of a human life, each determined by chance.
still from Blind Chance (Krzysztof Kieslowski, PL 1981)
still from Trois couleurs: Blanc (Krzysztof Kieslowski, PL/CH/FR 1994)
Eye is screening a retrospective of the most significant fiction films, documentaries and shorts Kieślowski made between 1978 and 1994. Distributor Cherry Pickers is also giving a new cinema release to four films: Trois couleurs: Bleu from 12 January and Trois couleurs: Blanc, Trois couleurs: Rouge and La double vie de Véronique from 19 January. Eye will be releasing Blind Chance again in cinemas from 19 January. Most of Kieślowski’s films have been restored in recent years.
still from A Short Film About Killing (Krzysztof Kieslowski, PL 1988)
still from A Short Film About Love (Krzysztof Kieslowski, PL 1988)
About Krzysztof Kieślowski
Kieślowski wanted to “make films about people’s innermost thoughts and emotions, about what they don’t show to others”. Having graduated from the Polish film academy in Łódź, in the ’70s Kieślowski focused mostly on making documentaries, in which he recorded everyday life in a totalitarian state – sharp observations that regularly brought him into conflict with the censor.
Blind Chance (1981, release 1987) shows a young student’s life take three different courses, and was banned during the ‘martial law’ period in Poland (1981-1983). Kieślowski’s international breakthrough was marked by the ten-part film series Dekalog (1988), in which he examined the meaning of The Ten Commandments for modern humanity.
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 removed the last impediments to international success: La double vie de Véronique (1991) and above all the trilogy based on the colours of the French tricolour Trois couleurs: Bleu, Blanc and Rouge (1993-1994), starring top French actresses Irène Jacob, Juliette Binoche and Julie Delpy, are Kieślowski’s most stylised films, but also tackle earthly themes including love, loss and deceit and proved popular with audiences around the world.
“...visionary feature films... perhaps even more relevant today than they were back then... great cinematography...”
(NRC Handelsblad)
Kieślowski in the press
The films of Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski are still standing proudly... Kieślowski's films have perhaps become even better... His work is beautiful, sensitive, influential and timeless... almost too beautiful... (De Volkskrant)
...still worth seeing... a binding force... luckily, his work lives on. (De Telegraaf)
Films, talks & events
still from Trois couleurs: Bleu (Krzysztof Kieslowski, FR/PL/CH 1993)