Les têtes parlantes

Since I'm enjoying the "Dekalog" films so much, I wanted to check out some of acclaimed Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski's other work before continuing the series. Because it has been in my watchlist for a while now, I decided to watch his 18 minute long documentary film "Talking Heads". In the film, many different people are interviewed and speak about their personalities, life, problems, and desires. It's a fascinating and intriguing idea that is executed very well.

This film really seems to represent life itself. Sometimes it is funny, sometimes it is sad-you meet many different personalities and you have many different characteristics. In this film, all sorts of people are interviewed from ages 1 to 100. Some of them are happy, others are sad, and all of their moods and emotions clash together beautifully to create a wonderful portrait of the world surrounding us all.

The idea behind this short film is breathtakingly simple yet its execution by Krzysztof Kieślowski is truly masterful. Each time I watch this documentary I am experiencing a profound sense of being close, touchingly close to another human's heart.

Tender, human dimension of many of these strangers, young, elderly, and some very old, highly educated, and some plain simple -- yet all of them so genuine, so real, and dignified, as never any actor could possibly be, makes me want to embrace many of them and say: "You are my dear brother, you are my beloved sister."

This work of Kieślowski demonstrates perhaps better than ever that the Polish film director first of all was interested in what was Genuine, what was Profound, what was True and Essential. A master of human heart, of human soul, and of camera.

Cinéma vérité, Director forced himself to be included in the film. And I think this film can be one of the earliest images that close to today's internet rumbles about the interview from a child to an old man, and this one had its own purity. Not absolutely at all but it's belong to the time of 1980s. It's now here became the shortcut of those realness films, how can we trust directors didn't cut some censored parts out? And now we can revise the quote but Jean-Luc Godard to "24 lies per second". Cinéma vérité, Director forced himself to be included in the film. And I think this film can be one of the earliest images that close to today's internet rumbles about the interview from a child to an old man, and this one had its own purity. Not absolutely at all but it's belong to the time of 1980s. It's now here became the shortcut of those realness films, how can we trust directors didn't cut some censored parts out? And now we can revise the quote but Jean-Luc Godard to "24 lies per second".

Seemingly dozens of people tackle this question, from an infant who sits there silently, to a woman a hundred years old.

Actually, they don't seem to address the first question, or perhaps in Polish the distinction is not clear. They answer not who they are, but what they are: a potential fireman, or a taxi driver, or a sociologist, or a recent widow or one hundred years old. The answer to the second question also shows an interesting arc: the very young speak of what they want personally, the adults of what they want society to be, and the old and very old.... want nothing. A few more years perhaps.

Gadajace Glowy is a serious documentary film of 15 minutes which features people from different age groups,backgrounds and professions. A common element of all answers involves respect for an individual. Kieslowski starts his film by asking three simple questions to a boy aged 1 year.These questions are: a) Who are you ? b) When were you born ? c) What is important for you ? These three questions are asked to many young children,boys,girls,men and women.We get to hear very calculated replies which evoke all kinds of human feelings.It is through these replies that we come to know that Polish people are exhorted to be brave,honest and decent in their daily lives.Master cameraman Jacek Petrycki carefully films these replies which have been formulated in order to state that individual freedom is not enough as people must live in a democratic setup.At the end of the film,one of the most poignant reply comes from a lady who is 100 years old.She states that she would like to live more.Talking Heads is a documentary film of highest quality about heads which talk.It is not an ordinary,trite talk which one gets to hear. Kieslowski has conceived "Talking Heads" in such a manner that we get to hear frank views about life from simple,ordinary human beings.