Kieslowski on Kieslowski

Kieslowski on Kieslowski
by Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzystof Kieslowski

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Book Summary Information

Author: Krzystof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Kieslowski
Editor: Danusia Stok
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1995-04-13
ISBN: 0571173284
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Faber & Faber

Book Reviews of Kieslowski on Kieslowski

Book Review: Filmmaking doesn't get any more real than this...
Summary: 5 Stars

In his own words, Krzysztof Kieslowski tells you about the agony and the ecstacy of the independent filmmaking process.

The late Polish filmmaker is up to the challenge, delivering his characteristic frankness nestled within the pages of this short retrospective work, narrated in his own words, and magnificently edited (translated, too?) by Danusia Stok.

The book is tailor-made for "idie" filmmaking buffs, and supplies a glimpse into the enticingly magical personality which was Kieslowski's. Eschewing a typical rote autobiographical style, Kieslowski divulges key details about himself via the device of his extensive filmography -- revealing things about his thinking process and the high value he places upon delicate human emotionality through a step-by-step examination of his long filmography.

Spanning his early years as a prominent documentary filmmaker during the stifling years of Polish Communism and state censorship -- especially during the imposition of Marshal Law in Poland during 1980-1 when Kieslowski couldn't work for half a year -- and ending with his magnificent trilogy "Barwy" (Three Colours: Blue, White, Red), we're subjected to a feast of Kieslowski-isms regarding his thoughts pertaining to such diverse notions as:

** casting for acting talent.
** Kieslowski's penchant for making his ENTIRE crew a part of the idea-generating process for his films.
** the nature of artistic filmmaking in Europe compared to commerical filmmaking in the US.
** the demands of time on a filmmaker's personal life.
** the differing range of skills between Western and Polish filmmaking crews.

A right pity Krzysztof Kieslowski is no longer with us to share to a burgeoning generation of up-and-coming filmmakers what might very well some none-too-optimistic viewpoints on the state of today's "international" filmmaking.

The book is written in Kieslowski's typical unassuming style -- par for the course from the Polish master. The late director doesn't bowl you over with how much he knows about film history, or about the complicated craft of filmmaking. Kieslowski doesn't tell you that he's better than you or me. Rather, through a detailed accounting of his past achievements, Kieslowski's emphasis is always upon that which is most human: the wellspring of all his works, and the central reason why filmmakers must indeed make films, in his esteemed opinion.

Still, I found the book ended suddenly.

Not shockingly so, just that the work might have gone on for much longer than its seemingly scant 227 pages. There's so much to know about this magnificent paragon of the film community, and if anything, it will be a primer for further reading on the man, the legend, and his favourite subject: films.

Five-stars.

-- ADM in Prague

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Summary of Kieslowski on Kieslowski

Krzystof Kieslowski untimely death in 1996 robbed cinema of one of its great visionaries. Decalogue, The Double Life of Veronique and the Three Colours trilogy earned Kieslowski his reputation as a world-class film-maker. He was notoriously reticent, and even dismissive of his work and talent, but these frank and detailed discussions showed a passion for film-making that animated a life disrupted by both Hilter and Stalin and the legacy these figures left in Eastern Europe. His struggle to work as a film-maker mirrors the struggle of Poland to reassert its identity. In 1989, when the Berlin Wall collapsed and Eastern European states overthrew the oppressive Soviet burden, his orientation gravitated towards France. Moving between Poland and France, Kieslowski created some of the most important cinematic works of the Nineties.

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