Blind Chance (Przypadek) poster & wallpaper

Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Tadeusz Lomnicki, Boguslaw Linda

Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life. One: he catches the train, meets an honest Communist and himself beco...( read more  read more... )mes a Party activist. Two: while running for the train he bumps into a railway guard, is attested, brought to trial and sent to unpaid labour in a park where he meets someone from the opposition. He, in turn, becomes a militant member of the opposition. Three: he simply misses the train, meets a girl from his studies, rerns to his interrupted studies, marries the girl and leads a peaceful life as & doctor unwilling to get mixed up in politics. He is sent abroad with his work. In mid-air, the plane he is on explodes.

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85% liked it

2,163 ratings

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6 critics

Unrated, 2 hrs. 2 min.

Directed by: Krzysztof Kieslowski

Release Date: August 14, 1989

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DVD Release Date: August 17, 2004

Stats: 119 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (119)

  • habitualdamnation
    December 4, 2007
    habitualdamnation
    It is truly embarassin to learn of this work only after new 'fashionable' movies like Sliding Doors or Lola Rennt. Now at least I can pretend to be the learned cinephile with this on my shelves! You gotta love them Kieslowski angles.
  • TheAfterHours
    August 16, 2009
    TheAfterHours
    This film really did not need to be 2 hours at all! My god, I was fast forwarding so much. Yes, I gave it a 2 star rating because of this. The premise is very unique and clever for it's time. Before this, I dont think a film was made with this plot structure but I'm not sure....( read more) Anyway, what brings down the premise is just a very dull story. Or at least told in a dull way. I could not stand it. Only die hard fans of Kieslowski should watch this.
  • Obakchatak
    April 25, 2009
    Obakchatak
    The subject of the movie is what makes the whole difference. A very interesting issue about life that I am sure is bothering a lot of people in the world. Very human plot with a lot of symbolic scenes. Do not expect to fully grasp the idea by watching it only once. And absolutely...( read more) do no refrain from watching this movie at all, if you are a serious movie watcher. The film is 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. "Blind Chance" encapsulates many of the ideas and themes Kieslowski later explored in more detail. A brilliant and highly thought-provoking film. In my opinion, one of Kieslowski's most accomplished and densely-packed works. A meditation on chance and fate. A film for intelligent people!!!!
  • Budgeburgess
    April 14, 2009
    Budgeburgess
    Shot in 1981, this influential film by Krzysztof Kieslowski was subjected to years of censorship by the Polish authorities and did not become public property until the Cannes Film Festival in 1987. Kieslowski explores the role of chance, how seemingly innocuous decisions or event...( read more)s can change our lives. Witek is a fundamentally decent young man, studying medicine, who runs to catch a train. It seems as if his career and his future depend on him boarding the train, but Kieslowski replays the scenario three times. On each occasion, Witek experiences a different future: whether he catches the train or not, a different set of circumstances becomes a possibility and his fate is left in the hands of blind chance.

    We are shown three possible futures for Witek - as Communist Party functionary, as Christian and political radical, or as an apolitical family man, content in his role as a doctor. Each of his options provides a commentary on the politics of Poland in the 1980's, most significantly in its reflection on the role of censorship and how ideas can shape our understanding of the world (and of ourselves).

    Poland, of course, was rent with changes in the 1980's - as was the entire Soviet bloc. Where would it go as a nation, as a political entity? Kieslowski and his contemporaries were brought up in Marxist dialectical materialism, suggesting that there was an inevitability to the emerge and dominance of the Communist Party. So what role is played by chance? If the plot to assassinate Hitler had succeeded in 1944, Poland might have been liberated by Western armies and politicians, not Soviet ones.

    The life of a single individual can be as random as that of Witek: we are only shown one moment in his life from which dramatic changes are sparked - the implication is that there can be infinite possibilities within a lifespan (we are told, for instance, that Witek is a twin, but that he alone survived birth). If an individual's life is open to blind chance, surely there can be no certainties in history, no inevitability that the Communist Party, or the Catholic Church, should rule Poland.

    Marxist philosophy emphasises the role of duality - classically described as 'thesis' and 'antithesis', opposing forces clashing to provide a third, dynamic force of 'synthesis'. By rejecting the notion of duality, by emphasising that Witek has three possibilities, not two, Kieslowski is making a fundamental challenge to Communist doctrine. History is not predictable - it is random. Kieslowski would return to the theme of three choices in his "Three Colours" trilogy and in other areas of his work.

    The film is firmly within the realist school of European film making - it is a fantasy about real life. The portrait he paints of his contemporary Poland is one stripped of glamour. This is a materially poor society, but one which is culturally and intellectually rich. People can make choices - they can uphold the State or they can oppose it ... or they can get on with their lives. What are the consequences of choice? What are the consequences of having no choice, of being simply the pawn of blind chance?

    Kieslowski employs disorienting techniques - the camera takes the place of different characters during the production, putting you in the place of a number of the actors. How do we interpret the world? Are we just onlookers, or are we players? The director has the power to leave us as impassive members of the audience, or to elevate us to a temporary role as a participant in the film. Politicians have similar powers. And chance can strip us of self-determination and make us mere pawns.

    A highly influential film, it is, perhaps, a slow starter. You do not really begin to engage with the characters until you appreciate that you are being shown the second of Witek's options; you do not really begin to understand the themes until you witness the third option and understand just how random chance can be. Kieslowski, himself, expressed dissatisfaction with the film, an opinion which defines his ability to be self-critical and to strive to push his art.

    The extras provided on the DVD give valuable insight into his thinking, and into the role of the censor in political and artistic life, and make a significant contribution to your appreciation of the film. It's a film which can be viewed again and again: you lose nothing of your enjoyment in doing so - in fact a second or third viewing enhances your understanding, and will, perhaps, give you a taste for more of Kieslowski's work. A great European director, his films are essential (and thoroughly enjoyable) viewing for anyone with an interest in the cinema.
  • wuasaby
    November 22, 2008
    wuasaby
    It has some very slow parts (specially in the first variation) but the acting is very natural and what I love the most about this film is that each part is dominated by a different topic: The first one is very political, then the second is where his life turns religious, and the ...( read more)third one is full of romance. Another thing that I loved was how good or bad sex was depending on how his life was. We have a very unromantic and almost crude sex scene on the first part, then there's no sex in the religious part and finally we have a very beautiful sex scene in the last part.
  • bucusuz
    September 25, 2008
    bucusuz
    ... birileri ikna ettigi takdirde nasil iki ayri zit düsünceye itilebilecegini gösteriyor film ayni zamanda. her iyi filmde farkli sekilde düsünüp fikirlerimin degismesi o kadar da buyuk bir sey degilmis onu anladim. insancil.
  • villainforhire
    May 28, 2008
    villainforhire
    a fascinating rumination on fate/chance. this movie has been remade by so many people, but few even come anywhere close to this. religion, politics, family, love.
  • azfad
    October 21, 2007
    azfad
    Kieslowski's excellent rumination on chance and the part it plays in our lives. A brilliant performance by Linda as the hero of the piece really holds it all together - just one question - why the scream at the start?

    Highly recommended and plenty of food for thought.
  • apacheEbozorg
    August 3, 2007
    apacheEbozorg
    Przypadek 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...( read more)). 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.
  • Cinevolver
    July 16, 2007
    Cinevolver
    Kieslowski's "Blind Chance" is an incredible journey into coincidence and fate. Filmed on the eve of the destruction of communism in Poland. Kieslowski's bold take on polital affiliations in a country going through it's own struggles with the political party speaks volumes. The ...( read more)film concentrates on the life of a young man(Witek) and the decisions made when fate gives you the choices. The film is divided into three parts each being a different consequence for Witek. They are all decided and seperate themselves during the scene repeated in the film three times as Witek runs down a train in a station as he catches and misses the train. Each leading to three completely different futures. The beauty of Blind Chance obviously is that it leaves you thinking about one's decisions and how they can and will impact your life. That's the whole process with Kieslowski, his films leave you thinking about the your life and remind you that time is gold and love is infinite. Made on the eve of communist crackdown, The film was surpressed for nearly seven years! Favorite Scene(had many): Witek saves three doctors from a building controlled by leftist students with the intention to burn the building.

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Comments

  • julianbastidas1
    March 11, 2007
    julianbastidas1
    Another masterpiece from one of the best directors of all time Krzysztof Kieslowski. Pure philosophy
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