A Short Film About Killing

A Short Film About Killing
Theatrical release poster
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)	11 March 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 and starring Miroslaw Baka, Krzysztof Globisz, and Jan Tesarz. Written by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the film was expanded from Decalogue V of the Polish television series The Decalogue. Set in Warsaw, Poland, the film compares the senseless, violent murder of an individual to the cold, calculated exectution by the state.^[1] A Short Film About Killing won both the Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival,^[2] as well as the European Film Award for Best Film.^[3] It is one of the 11 films that have been selected for preservation by National Film Archive of India

Plot

Waldemar Rekowski (Jan Tesarz) is a middle-aged taxicab driver in Warsaw who enjoys his profession and the freedom it affords. His concern for turning a profit leads him to ignore some potential fares in favor of others. An overweight and crude man, Waldemar also enjoys leering at young women.

Jacek Łazar (Mirosław Baka) is a 21 year-old drifter who recently arrived in Warsaw from the countryside and is now aimlessly wandering the streets of the city. He seems to take pleasure in causing other people's misfortunes: he throws a stranger into the urinals of a public toilet after being approached sexually; he drops a large stone from a bridge onto a passing vehicle causing an accident; and he scares away pigeons to spite an old lady who is feeding them.

Piotr Balicki (Krzysztof Globisz) is a young and idealistic lawyer who has just passed the bar exam. He takes his wife to a café where they discuss their future. At the same café, Jacek is sitting at a table handling a length of rope and a stick which he keeps in his bag. The rope and stick appear to be a weapon. He puts away the rope and stick when he spots two girls playing at the other side of the window and he engages in a game with them.

Meanwhile, Waldemar has been driving is taxicab around the city looking for a fare. He stops near the café just as Jacek approaches and enters the cab. He 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 Waldemar 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 taxicab driver over the head with it. Jacek then takes the taxicab to the river and dumps 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 removes the taxicab signs and drives the car to a grocery store where he talks to a girl who jumps into the car. She notices a clown's head hanging from the mirror and asks Jacek where he got the car.

Sometime later, Jacek is caught and imprisoned. He is interviewed by his criminal defense lawyer, Piotr, for whom this is his 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 judge that he had made some compelling arguments and his legal strategy was rather convincing. In spite of Piotr's efforts, Jacek is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.

In the moments before his scheduled execution, Jacek reveals to Piotr that his baby sister was killed by a tractor which his friend had been driving while 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. Jacek 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.

Jacek is then taken from his cell and marched to the execution chamber by several prison guards. The confirmation of his sentence is 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. Afterwards, Piotr drives to a empty field where he cries.

Cast

• Mirosław Baka as Jacek Lazar
• Krzysztof Globisz as Piotr Balicki (Advocate)
• Jan Tesarz as Waldemar Rekowski (Taxi driver)
• Zbigniew Zapasiewicz as Committee Chairman
• Barbara Dziekan as Cashier
• Aleksander Bednarz as The Executioner
• Jerzy Zass as Police Commander
• Zdzisław Tobiasz as Judge
• Artur Barciś as Young Man
• Krystyna Janda as Dorota
• Olgierd Łukaszewicz as Andrzej
• Peter Falchi as British Motorist
• Elzbieta Helman as Beatka
• Maciej Maciejewski as Prosecutor^[4]

Production

Filming locations

• Krakowskie Przedmieście, Sródmiescie, Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland
• Old Town, Śródmieście, Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland
• Siedlce, Mazowieckie, Poland
• Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland^[5]

Reception

Awards and nominations

• 1988 Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
• 1988 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
• 1988 Cannes Film Festival Nomination for the Palme d'Or (Krzysztof Kieślowski)
• 1988 European Film Award for Best Film (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
• 1988 Polish Film Festival Golden Lion Award (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
• 1990 Bodil Award for Best European Film (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
• 1990 French Syndicate of Cinema Critics Award for Best Foreign Film (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
• 1990 Robert Festival Award for Best Foreign Film (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won^[3]

Differences with Decalogue V

According to the funding deal that Kieślowski had with TV Poland to make The Decalogue, two of the episodes would be expanded into films. The decision came down to Decalogue V and Decalogue VI.

Although the main plot in both works is the same, Decalogue V has a different order in editing and makes more use of voice-over, whereas the film starts differently and gives a more prominent role to Piotr, the lawyer. Decalogue 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 Decalogue V, to keep it within the time limitations for TV as intended.

See also

• The Decalogue
• Decalogue V
• A Short Film About Love

References

External links

• A Short Film About Killing at the Internet Movie Database

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