Called by Joe Kickasola, “Kieslowski’s great formal experiment,” this one features consistent shots of abstraction both at the levels of both form and content. The tilted and upside-down shots formally…
The Passion of Joan of Arc (dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928) – Paul Schrader calls this a key example of the “transcendental style in film,” from his book by that…
The Double Life of Véronique (1991, dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski) – A film that continues to challenge and provoke. Struck this time around by the very immanent nature of Kieslowski’s transcendence.…
While it would normally seem a travesty, a horrid injustice to submit a “great formal experiment” like Krzysztof Kieslowski’s The Double Life of Véronique to a(n) mundane/inane critical medium such…
When there’s no time for thinking, let alone writing, time will be made for quickies. Gran Torino (dir. Clint Eastwood): Great, small movie. Eastwood is a competent director and as…
It isn’t hard to imagine Krzysztof Kieslowski responding to an accusation that his films might be overly transcendent or unreal by employing one of the most common and, indeed, self-reflexive…
The Decalogue IV Despite the more obvious fact that this episode of Kieslowski’s Decalogue is themed around the commandment “You shall honor your father and your mother,” I will refrain…
Krzysztof Kieslowski was a cinematic genius, at the level of a Godard or an Antonioni but receiving very little credit for his work. His films elevate the art form beyond…
