A Short Film About Love (1988)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Dreadfully Boring

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Krzysztof Kieslowski is a Polish director most known for directing the three colors trilogy. His 1988 movie 'A Short Film About Love' aka 'Krótki film o milosci' is, as its name implicates, a short (with a duration of c. 80 minutes) film about love. With a catchy title like that, one may expect A Short Film About Love to be a predictable romantic comedy. Well, A Short Film About Love is as far from comedy as possible - in fact it is somewhat depressing. I'm also not sure if I would label this movie as 'romantic'. I'll let you decide that.The movie is about Tomek (Olaf Lubaszenko), a 19 year old who works at the post office. He is obsessed with his older neighbor Magda (Grazyna Szapolowska) who lives in the tower block opposite. He regularly spies on her through a telescope he stole, he even calls her on the telephone and tries to contact her in any way possible. One day he decides to confess his actions to her. As you can see, the plot itself is very simple and thin. However, it is really effective and works amazingly good. This unusual combination of Hitchcockian vibes and 'romance' really appealed to me.As you may have guessed from the movie's plot, A Short Film About Love is a rather slow movie, there isn't much drama to it. The movie benefits mostly from the haunting and gloomy surroundings in which the characters interact. Furthermore, the performances in the movie are absolutely great and very powerful. Olaf Lubaszenko is excellent in his minimalist portrayal of the love-stricken, creepy Tomek, and Grazyna Szapolowska's portrayal of the promiscuous artist Magda is also note worthy. Besides these two, there aren't many other prominent characters in the movie. Of course, there's the old lady in whose house Tomek lives (played by Stefania Iwinska) but she isn't that important for the overall story. Olaf Lubaszenko and Grazyna Szapolowska are the ones that keep the movie going.A Short Film About Love really keeps pushing the boundaries of fictional love. It asks questions such as - What is truly love? Does it even exist? What does it take to be in love? How do we know we're in love? It analyzes how one person's actions affect another one's life and how to deal with the consequences of your actions. A Short Film About Love is a dark and bold journey into the human psyche and into the complicated emotion that is love. A definitive recommendation!Rating: 8/10 Read more at http://passpopcorn.wordpress.com/

The screenplay is written from the pov of a twenty-something, overly-sensitive boy/man who sometimes succumbs to masochistic tendencies. And written for same. Story is about an average looking, withdrawn, personality-less 19 year old male who obsessively voyeuristically watches an attractive, mature and sexy woman in various stages of undress and in various sexual positions with a boyfriend. Thwock, thwock, thwock. In a not-to-be-believed circumstance (well, it IS his fantasy after all!) young man gets physically close to the woman, has his hands moving up her bare thighs.....but before he gets to the prize......has a premature orgasm. Thwock, thwock, thwock, thwock. Neatly and virtually painlessly punishes himself for this by cutting both wrists with a flimsy double-edged shaving blade (more self-inflicted pain but photographed in a beautiful, melodramatic, theatrical way). (Cue violins.) Survives the attempt and then rejects the she-devil he so previously desired. (In an interview on the disc the actress tells how the original ending had the kid coldly repudiate the woman. Very telling this ending because, you see, he triumphs over her and "that'll show you, now that you're interested in little old boring me! Or as Groucho said, "I wouldn't join any club that would have me as a member!) Climax!

Surprisingly Kieslowski's this movie is disappointing to me because of the sometimes weird and sometimes cliché script that also seems a work of a poor observation sometimes. There is an isolated young boy. He lives with one of his relatives, but he is lonely and every night watches a woman who lives across their building. It seems! that he wants her. He is one of the youths who are not good at communication with the opposite sex. However, he likes that woman, when the woman comes to his house with a man, Tomek gets pain. Then, we understand that Kieslowski tells us a story about an isolated young boy who needs a female to flirt or who falls in love with a mature woman. He does not do something else, because may be he knows that it is his salvation. One day, he stops that woman, suddenly, he seems a shy boy, but proves that he is not, so he explains her almost everything. She lectures and refuses him. Everything is so realistic like the other Kieslowski films, no problem. The problems start when Tomek visits her, the story of a lonely young boy who falls in love with a mature woman (but an unrequited love) turns into the story of a lonely young boy falls in love with a mature woman, at the beginnings the woman refuses, but after a short time, she starts to change her mind. This U-Turn makes the movie cliché firstly. The personality of Tomek is weird? or a result of a poor observation? I disappointed with this character, this is my opinion and I will try to tell why. When he goes to her house, Magda treats him very friendly. She asks what do you want from me? To kiss me? to make love with me? to go out with me? At this point, I remember the people who say she is a femme fatale. See? Returning to the scene, Tomek rejects all the proposals. Why? Because he is shy? I don't think so, but his communication is blunt, OK. After the leg scene at home, some events make the movie misses its aim. I think that the aim of the movie is (should have been according to the story) to show us there are some people who suffer from lack of endearment and to save from this situation is not easy owing to lack of communication and being aloof especially for men. I mean that at this point, what does the movie say? It is blurred and disappointing. It is seen that he is not hunger for love or a female or sex. Then, what? And the suicide attempt scene support this weakness. So that he touches her legs, he wants to kill himself! By the way, as I mentioned before, some say Magda is a femme fatale. Totally not. She endeavors in order to make Tomek happy. Does she avoid having contact with him? No. Does she insult him? No. Does she amuse him? No. And Does she deceive him? No. She has some troubles with her (ex) lover, so she is not O.K. However, she does not take revenge for it from Tomek. She is not an angel, but not a femme fatale also.

For someone used by Hollywood to romantic films being comedies, this could be a hard one to swallow. In a way, yes, it is a drama, but no more than any other strong love is. The movie attacks directly the strongest feelings anyone has ever had: the first love. Since the main character is an introverted 19 year old, the power of his inner love can only be hinted at. But one gets the picture.The story is irrelevant, in itself, the lead idea is that someone can identify one's life and reason to live with a feeling that isn't even shared. The interaction between the love sick and his target is only a small ploy to make us understand the things that go on inside the man.All in all I've seen better movies than this, having stronger messages. Wicker Park, for example, is a fairly recent US movie that captures in a more alert, yet implausible way the same feelings of obsession. Is that the truest love, or is it just a Chimera, making people chase their own tail in the illusion that they have a real feeling? I think there are few movies that explore this issue, this being one of them. Be prepared for a rather depressing view on the matter.