Kieslowski on Kieslowski [Paperback]

Krzysztof Kieslowski (Author), Danusia Stok (Editor), Krzystof Kieslowski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 1995

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kieslowski is frequently cryptic in his responses to journalists, refusing to respond to questions about the meaning of a particular film. But in [this] fascinating new book, he reveals a little more of himself, and while his pessimism sometimes surfaces in odd, self-deprecating ways, the artist's warmth trickles through, too . . . Throughout the book, Kieslowski's practical observations about filmmaking suggest a concern for young filmmakers, an acute mind, a somewhat sad disposition, and a profound skepticism that nevertheless cracks open in the face of art, revealing a man capable of brilliant insight and poetic vision . . . An engrossing read for film buffs, students, or anyone interested in the cultural history of Eastern Europe."— --

"Stok has done a fine job of translating Kieslowski's Polish into idiomatic English without losing his personal tone of voice." --Sight & Sound

About the Author

The great Polish film director Krzysztof Kieslowski (1941-96) graduated from Lodz Film Academy in 1969. His best known films including Red, White, and Blue. Red brought him an Academy Award nomination for Best Director in 1995, White earned the Best Director Prize in Berlin in 1994, and Blue shared the Golden Lion at Venice in 1993.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (April 13, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571173284
• ISBN-13: 978-0571173280
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #534,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Movie Directors

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a heartwarming portrait of the human being, December 16, 1999

By 

S. Park (Seoul) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kieslowski on Kieslowski (Paperback)

This is a well-organized and informative book. While it is based on a series of interviews, the Q&A format is not used; instead, Stok lets Kieslowski narrate in his own words various stages in his life and films he has made. The effect is that of eavesdropping on a chance monologue, or that of a very colloquial autobiography. Although Stok (I think) happens to be the wife of one of Kieslowski's main cameramen, personal sentiments do not get in the way at any point. This book also contains, in addition to the compulsory stills from his documentaries and movies, various other interesting material such as photographs that Kieslowski himself took as a student at Lodz Film School.

The portrait of Kieslowski that emerges is of an overwhelmingly modest, considerate, private, and above all *humane* human being, self-deprecating to the extreme even after his international success as a director. He dismisses his vocation as the worst job in the world, hilarious (issuing directions via microphone and speaker, freezing, to a half-clad Grazyna Szapolowska atop a makeshift tower at 2am) and insignificant(his frustrating administrative experiences as a member of the Polish filmmaking guild). However, you realize that the poignant messages that come through in his films are the result of a unique personal/private sensitivity; he tries to articulate the manner in which outside events touch the individual, and hopes to touch the individual in the audience through his work. You can't reproach him for insisting that "you will never know what is deep inside me, no one will ever know, the experience is mine alone."

The only thing I felt was missing from the book was Kieslowski's final pronouncement on the Blue/White/Red series, since the final interviews were conducted while he was still editing. Also, it does not answer every single question you have about his films - what does the hunchbacked old woman who creeps through Veronique and the Trilogy signify? What does Veronique's clear rubber ball mean? At times, I realized that Kieslowski's narrative and symbolic intentions were really much simpler than what I had imagined to be. In all, this book is not the terminus in your quest to discover the essence of Kieslowski, but provides a heartwarming, personal portrait to base further navigations on.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A look inside the mind of a philosopher who also made movies, August 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Kieslowski on Kieslowski (Hardcover)

The text and quotes are so well arranged that you accept the whole as a seamless narrative. Reading this book helped take his work from enigmatic to profoundly humanistic, even optimistic. Not a minute of his film is for editing, and not a word from these interviews should be overlooked. One of my favorite reads.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kieslowski unbuttoned, February 4, 2001

By 

Scott Spires (Prague, Czech Republic) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kieslowski on Kieslowski (Paperback)

Possibly the last of the really great European art film directors discusses his life and work. The tone of this book was a bit of a surprise. Unlike such visionary auteurs as Bergman and Tarkovsky, Kieslowski is funny, sarcastic, and deprecating, both about himself ("I was a complete idiot") and his country ("Poles will willingly drown another Pole in a glass of water"). And the art of cinema comes across here as a somewhat ridiculous chore, with fleeting and intermittent rewards. You may spend some time puzzling over whether Kieslowski is being accurate and sincere, or just having you on.

However, there's a wealth of insight and information in this book, about KK's films, the art of cinema in general, Poland and its history, and the ideas that animated KK throughout his career. If you have yet to discover such great films as "The Decalogue", "The Double Life of Veronique", and "Blind Chance", reading this book will whet your appetite. If you already know them, you'll gain further insights. And this book is just a great read, almost like a first-person confessional novel in its style. Stories like the one about how Kieslowski feigned insanity to avoid military service make it entertaining even if you don't care about movies!