KIEŚLOWSKI — Film retrospective at Kino KIKA

KIEŚLOWSKI – film retrospective at Kino KIKA

It has been 30 years since the premature death of Krzysztof Kieślowski — one of the most internationally acclaimed Polish directors. His work inspired, among others, Tom Tykwer, and its influence is also visible in films by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Cristian Mungiu and Polish filmmakers such as Jerzy Stuhr and Greg Zgliński.

The 30th anniversary of the artist’s death in March is an opportunity to present his later films. The retrospective organized by Kino KIKA will include the Three Colors trilogy and The Double Life of Véronique, shown on the 35th anniversary of their premiere.

Program:

• 12 March | Thursday | 18:00
  THREE COLORS. BLUE | Trois couleurs. Bleu
  dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski, Poland 1993, 94’
  website
  The protagonist of Blue is a young woman, Julie de Courcy (Juliette Binoche), who loses her five-year-old daughter Anna and her composer husband Patrice de Courcy (Huques Quester) in a car accident. After the accident Julie tries to avoid any stimuli that remind her of the tragedy. However, when she learns that her husband cheated on her with a pregnant lover, she decides to take responsibility for her life again and finish Patrice’s musical work.
• 13 March | Friday | 18:00
  THREE COLORS. WHITE | Trois couleurs. Blanc
  dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski, Poland 1994, 91’
  website
  Karol, a Polish hairdresser married to a French model, is forced by his wife to divorce because of impotence. In Paris he loses his job and apartment and tries to earn money by playing a comb in metro stations. In this miserable role he is accosted by Mikołaj — a lonely, mysterious Pole — who helps smuggle the passport-less compatriot back to Poland. At a later meeting Mikołaj asks Karol to do him a favor for money: he wants Karol to shoot him, but that task is beyond the hairdresser’s capabilities. Karol moves in with his brother on the outskirts of Warsaw. He takes a job as a security guard for the owner of a currency exchange. One day he overhears his boss talking about an extraordinary opportunity to buy a plot in the countryside that lies in the planned area for a large wholesale warehouse. He takes advantage of the opportunity and, ahead of his boss, buys the plot for a thousand dollars. Together with Mikołaj he acquires a fortune and decides to get revenge on his ex-wife. He fakes his own death and lures her to Poland with the promise of a large inheritance, placing her in the position of someone trying to extort assets.
• 14 March | Saturday | 18:00
  THREE COLORS. RED | Trois couleurs. Rouge
  dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski, Poland 1994, 99’
  website
  Young model Valentine is a sensitive and warm-hearted girl. When she hits a dog on the street — she first takes it to the vet, then tries to return it to its real owner. The owner is retired judge Joseph. He is a tired, frustrated man who takes pleasure in eavesdropping on his neighbors and learning their most hidden, often shameful secrets. Valentine is initially outraged by the judge’s behavior. Over time, however, this embittered and closed man begins to intrigue her more and more. She will also find out that the judge’s secret will not be the only secret she discovers…
• 15 March | Sunday | 18:00
  THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VÉRONIQUE | La Double vie de Véronique
  dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski, France/Poland/Norway 1991, 98’
  website
  One of the most mysterious tales in the oeuvre of the Polish filmmaker. It combines reality with fantasy, the prose of life with poetry, the ordinary with the inexplicable. On 23 November 1966 two identical girls are born — one in Poland, the other in France. Although separated by thousands of kilometers, throughout their later lives they feel a strange bond with each other, even though they never really meet. They resemble each other like two drops of water; both have health problems, both love music and both have the same name: Weronika and Veronique (both roles – Irène Jacob). At one point in her life Weronika decides to devote herself to artistic work, which is abruptly interrupted by death. Veronique subconsciously senses the loss of someone very close. In an inexplicable, mystical way she draws conclusions from events that took place in Poland. She chooses love instead of passion. It is a story about a life that ends to find continuation in another body and soul.

Tickets: 25 zł

Patronage: Institut Français de Cracovie