Fate and Choice in Kieślowski's Blind Chance

Abstract

FATE AND CHOICE IN KIEŚLOWSKI'S BLIND CHANCE FILM lovers who appreciate the cinema of the late Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski (1941-1996) are likely to be familiar with his widely acclaimed works such as the Decalogue (1988), the series of mini-features made for Polish Television based on the Ten Commandments; the metaphysical beauty of The Double Life of Veronique (1991); and the Three Colours trilogy: Blue (1993), White (1993) and Red (1994), through which the director explores the concepts of liberty, equality and fraternity. Much less is known, however, of Kieślowski's numerous documentaries which started his career and of his early feature films which have yet to find commercial release in North America. Kieślowski was a filmmaker who came to be regarded as a philosopher, poet and humanist. His work is deeply concerned with questions of an existential nature and with moral dilemmas faced by ordinary people. His view of...