El azar

Blind Chance was built on a fascinating and intriguing idea yet the film feels like it's made mostly for the Polish audience or at least the audience familiar with 80s in Poland. Some scenes feel too uncomprehensible, and the director doesn't even bother explaining them. The three versions being built on mainly political, religious and scientific paths is another good idea of the film but the execution falls short yet again. Overall interesting movie but it's not fun to watch or even thought-provoking as it may sound.

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.

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.

No way I could read the previous terrible review and not comment.

This film is outstanding and is a must-see for anyone interested in films by Kieslowski and films of this era. It is also a great film for non-film buffs who are interested in the experience of Eastern European Communism.

This movie formats the ethical problems of living under/in Communism better than any professor or history book. You don't have to have an intricate knowledge of communism, ethics, or of post-WWII Polish history to enjoy the film. But you have to follow each scenario closely. You can't doze off or leave the theater. (I would think that the 3-in-1 format alone would be enjoyable for the average viewer--who should be able to clearly delineate the basic dilemmas in each setting.)

Those who did not live in Poland or Central and Eastern Europe can probably not fully relate to the multiple ethical obstacles daily life presented and the existential nature of it all. However, we all have choices to make in our daily lives. Although in a totally different setting, we all must make a choice to join, resist, or withdraw in various stages of our lives.

I would strongly encourage anyone to view this film. I would also encourage the previous reviewer, and any viewer of the film, to watch it more than once.

This film should be seen as one of Kieslowski's best. It is structured in three parts, each representing a different outcome of a single chance event (Tom Tykwer flat out stole this idea for his great movie Run, Lola, Run -- I'm not complaining, though). Kieslowski uses this singular situation in which the viewer realizes that where you are in life is largely due to chance to pose philosophical questions about how an individual should deal with his surroundings.

Within the context of the socialist police state of Poland at that time he asks us if we are supposed to fight the system we live in, be part of it and change it from the inside, or whether being happy in life is the one thing we are actually responsible for? In other words, is it worth fighting against everything we don't like? Is accepting it no different from selling out? Should we just try to make the most of it? Kieslowski gives us no answers, which is why this film, as well as all other Kieslowski films I have seen, seems so honest, so true to life. The only honest answer to the hard questions is "I don't know"

The film is also graced with careful, subtle characterizations, beautiful but gritty camera-work, a true comprehension of human emotions as well as of human conflict, and the style and brilliance of a man who truly understands.

I know this: Kieslowski is a master.