A Short Film About Killing | |
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Polish film poster |
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Directed by | Krzysztof Kieślowski |
Produced by | Ryszard Chutkowski, |
Written by | Krzysztof Kieślowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz |
Starring | Miroslaw Baka Krzysztof Globisz Jan Tesarz |
Music by | Zbigniew Preisner |
Cinematography | Sławomir Idziak |
Editing by | Ewa Smal |
Release date(s) | March 11 1988 |
Running time | 84 minutes |
Country | Poland |
Language | Polish |
A Short Film About Killing (Polish: Krótki film o zabijaniu) is a 1988 film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski expanded from the fifth episode in the Polish television series Dekalog. Set in Warsaw, Poland, it compares capital punishment with murders committed by individuals.[1] [2] [3]
It won the Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival,[4] as well as the prize for Best Film at the European Film Awards.
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The film focuses on three main characters: The first is Waldemar Rekowski, a middle-aged taxicab driver (Jan Tesarz), overweight and cruel-looking, he lives in the same apartment building as many of the other characters in the series. He enjoys the freedom of his profession, a living wage, the power to ignore people whom he does not want to take into his taxi, and leering at young women.
Jacek Łazar (Mirosław Baka) is a 21 year-old drifter who arrives from the countryside. He aimlessly wanders the streets of Warsaw and seems to take pleasure in causing other people's misfortunes. For example, he throws a stranger into the urinals of a public toilet after realizing his intent to hit on him, he drops stones from a bridge on to passing vehicles causing an accident, and scares away pigeons to spite an old lady who feeds them. The third main character is Piotr Balicki (Krzysztof Globisz), a young and idealistic lawyer who is about to take the bar exam.
Piotr passes his exam and is very happy, he takes his wife to a café where they discuss their future. Jacek has had a photograph of a little girl blown up and then goes to the same cafe where Piotr is with his wife. The taxi driver wanders around the city looking for a fare. Jacek keeps a length of rope in his bag and a stick; he wraps a bit of rope around his hand but stops when he spots two girls playing at the other side of the window at the cafe and he engages in a game with them. He then goes to a taxi stand and jumps into Rekowski's taxi. Jacek asks to be driven to a remote part of the city near the countryside and insists the driver take a longer and more remote route. When they finally reach their destination Jacek tries to kill the taxi driver with the rope but is disturbed by passers by and hides, waiting for them to leave. As he waits, the driver is still breathing and has mustered enough strength to try to free his neck from the rope but to no avail. Jacek then proceeds to complete his gruesome task by grabbing a large rock and repeatedly smashing the barely conscious taxi driver over the head with it. He then takes the taxi to the river and prepares to dump the body. Jacek turns on the radio and a children's song can be heard, which clearly upsets him as he rips out the radio and discards it.
Jacek takes the taxi signs away and drives the car to a grocery store where he talks to a girl seen earlier in the film, she jumps into the car and recognises a clown's head that was hanging at the taxi and asks Jacek where he got the car.
Jacek is subsequently caught and imprisoned. He is interviewed by his criminal defense lawyer, Piotr, for whom this is his very first case after finishing his legal studies. Piotr has little chance of winning the case against Jacek because of the strong evidence against his client and a clear motive for the murder. However, Piotr is told afterwards by the trial judge that he had made some compelling arguments and his legal strategy was rather convincing. In spite of Piotr's efforts, the verdict of the trial is inevitable: Jacek is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.
In the moments before his scheduled execution, Jacek reveals that his baby sister was killed by a tractor which his friend had been driving whilst under the influence of alcohol. He also reveals that it was he who his friend was drinking with just beforehand and that he had never fully recovered from the entire tragic episode. He then requests that he be given the final space in his family's grave which was initially reserved for his mother and that he be buried next to his sister and his father and the enlarged photo be given to his mother. This scene is perhaps the closest the audience gets to an explanation or possible motive as to why Jacek committed this brutal murder and indicates he may have unresolved issues over his sister's death.
Eventually, despite the lawyer's proclamation that they 'will never be ready' in response to a number of phone calls made by the prosecution, the execution is ready to proceed. Jacek is brought from his cell and marched to the execution chamber by around six policemen. The confirmation of his sentence is then read to him as well as the decision to deny clemency. He is offered a final cigarette and takes a few puffs before it is stubbed out. Just before he is hanged, he breaks free from his guards and begins to yell uncontrollably before his hands are shackled and he is quickly hanged with ruthless efficiency. The execution is carried out with just as much cold-bloodedness as the murder itself. The film ends with Piotr sobbing in his car in a field.
According to the funding deal that Kieślowski had with TV Poland to make the Dekalog series, two of the episodes would be expanded into films. The decision came down to Dekalog V and VI.
Although the main plot in both works is the same, Dekalog V has a different order in editing and makes more use of voice-over, where as the film starts differently and gives a more prominent role to Piotr, the lawyer. Dekalog V suddenly jumps from the killing scene to jail and there is no connection or explanation on how Jacek got arrested. A few scenes and lines of dialogue do not feature in Dekalog V, to keep it within the time limitations for TV as intended.
Awards | ||
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Preceded by Yeelen tied with Shinran: Path to Purity |
Jury Prize, Cannes 1988 |
Succeeded by Jesus of Montreal |
Preceded by New Award |
European Film Award for Best European Film 1988 |
Succeeded by Landscape in the Mist |
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