Login
No End video
Krzysztof Kie?lowski - Bez ko?ca / Kieslowski - No End (1984) [English Sub]
58 Views
0
vote
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
'No End', the first collaboration between writer-director Krzysztof Kieslowski and lawyer- turned-screenwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz, takes place in a Poland that is under the cloud of martial law. More than any of the director's other internationally-screened features, this one requires some (however rudimentary) knowledge of the political situation in Poland during the early-to-mid eighties. Martial law was declared in late 1981, and, in the resulting climate of uncertainty and tension, the courts began to pass two-to-three year sentences on anyone caught painting graffiti, found in possession of an underground newspaper, breaking curfew, or participating in strikes or other resistance activities. One of Kieslowski's objectives in 'No End' was to explore potential ramifications of this situation from a noncritical perspective.
Although 'No End' garnered Kieslowski more overseas recognition that he had attained for 'Camera Buff', things weren't as pleasant at home. According to the director, this film was not at all well-received during its initial run. Discussing the Polish reaction to 'No End', he said, "It was received terribly by the authorities; it was received terribly by the opposition, and it was received terribly by the Church. Meaning, by the three powers that be in Poland. We really got a thrashing over it. Only one element didn't give us a thrashing, and that was the audience... they went to see it... Never in my life have I received as many letters or phone calls about a film... And all of them, in fact -- I didn't get a single bad letter or call -- said that I'd spoken the truth about martial law. That that was the way they experienced it, that's what it was like."
'No End' is really three stories in one, all of which revolve around people connected to a lawyer, Antoni Zyro (Jerzy Radziwillowicz), who dies just before the film begins. There's Ula (Grazyna Szapolowska, who later appeared in 'Decalogue 6', 'A Short Film About Love'), the lawyer's widow. Only after his death does she realize how much she loved her husband and how little meaning her life has without him. The there's Dariusz (Artur Barcis), Antoni's client, who has been jailed for leading a labor strike. After Antoni's death, Dariusz is forced to employ an older, more cautious lawyer (Aleksander Bardini), who believes in compromising with the state to obtain a lenient sentence. Finally, there's the ghost of Antoni, who silently haunts his friends and family, watching as they continue their lives.
Pre-echoes of 'Blue' abound in this film. Ula's grief over her husband's death is like Julie's in the 1993 feature. Both women discover their husbands' secrets, and both turn to available men for sexual satisfaction. Adding to the similarities, Zbigniew Preisner's haunting score for 'No End' can be heard often during 'Blue' as a composition by "Van Den Budenmayer". However, while Ula's story is No End's most powerful element, the emotional impact here is less than what Kieslowski achieved with the first installment of his 'Three Colors' trilogy.
From a purely intellectual perspective, Dariusz's story is probably the most intriguing. His dilemma is simple accept his new lawyer's strategy of compromise and go free, or retrain his integrity and go to prison. Dariusz agonizes over the choice. He has a wife and child to feed -- something he can't do if he's in jail. Yet he believes passionately in the rights of the workers and the unfairness of martial law, and it makes him feel like a fraud to consider "selling out." Kieslowski carefully balances both sides of the predicament, presenting them to the audience almost as if asking us to render a verdict. In the end, Dariusz' decision is perhaps inevitable, but it gives him no joy. Kieslowski uses this sort of ethical and/or moral dilemma frequently in his movies. 'Camera Buff', 'Blind Chance', and 'Decalogue' all explore similar situations.
The metaphysical element of 'No End', while intriguing in concept, doesn't work all that well on screen. We never get much sense for what Antoni's ghost is feeling. He's only in four scenes, and remains something of an enigma -- an impotent watcher who occasionally attempts to communicate with the living by leaving unexpected signs. Kieslowski uses Antoni's ghost as a metaphor for the average person constrained by martial law -- possessing a clear conscience yet unable to do anything to affect change.
Kieslowski quotes are from 'Kieslowski on Kieslowski', Faber and Faber, 1993.
© 1996 James Berardinelli
'No End', the first collaboration between writer-director Krzysztof Kieslowski and lawyer- turned-screenwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz, takes place in a Poland that is under the cloud of martial law. More than any of the director's other internationally-screened features, this one requires some (however rudimentary) knowledge of the political situation in Poland during the early-to-mid eighties. Martial law was declared in late 1981, and, in the resulting climate of uncertainty and tension, the courts began to pass two-to-three year sentences on anyone caught painting graffiti, found in possession of an underground newspaper, breaking curfew, or participating in strikes or other resistance activities. One of Kieslowski's objectives in 'No End' was to explore potential ramifications of this situation from a noncritical perspective.
Although 'No End' garnered Kieslowski more overseas recognition that he had attained for 'Camera Buff', things weren't as pleasant at home. According to the director, this film was not at all well-received during its initial run. Discussing the Polish reaction to 'No End', he said, "It was received terribly by the authorities; it was received terribly by the opposition, and it was received terribly by the Church. Meaning, by the three powers that be in Poland. We really got a thrashing over it. Only one element didn't give us a thrashing, and that was the audience... they went to see it... Never in my life have I received as many letters or phone calls about a film... And all of them, in fact -- I didn't get a single bad letter or call -- said that I'd spoken the truth about martial law. That that was the way they experienced it, that's what it was like."
'No End' is really three stories in one, all of which revolve around people connected to a lawyer, Antoni Zyro (Jerzy Radziwillowicz), who dies just before the film begins. There's Ula (Grazyna Szapolowska, who later appeared in 'Decalogue 6', 'A Short Film About Love'), the lawyer's widow. Only after his death does she realize how much she loved her husband and how little meaning her life has without him. The there's Dariusz (Artur Barcis), Antoni's client, who has been jailed for leading a labor strike. After Antoni's death, Dariusz is forced to employ an older, more cautious lawyer (Aleksander Bardini), who believes in compromising with the state to obtain a lenient sentence. Finally, there's the ghost of Antoni, who silently haunts his friends and family, watching as they continue their lives.
Pre-echoes of 'Blue' abound in this film. Ula's grief over her husband's death is like Julie's in the 1993 feature. Both women discover their husbands' secrets, and both turn to available men for sexual satisfaction. Adding to the similarities, Zbigniew Preisner's haunting score for 'No End' can be heard often during 'Blue' as a composition by "Van Den Budenmayer". However, while Ula's story is No End's most powerful element, the emotional impact here is less than what Kieslowski achieved with the first installment of his 'Three Colors' trilogy.
From a purely intellectual perspective, Dariusz's story is probably the most intriguing. His dilemma is simple accept his new lawyer's strategy of compromise and go free, or retrain his integrity and go to prison. Dariusz agonizes over the choice. He has a wife and child to feed -- something he can't do if he's in jail. Yet he believes passionately in the rights of the workers and the unfairness of martial law, and it makes him feel like a fraud to consider "selling out." Kieslowski carefully balances both sides of the predicament, presenting them to the audience almost as if asking us to render a verdict. In the end, Dariusz' decision is perhaps inevitable, but it gives him no joy. Kieslowski uses this sort of ethical and/or moral dilemma frequently in his movies. 'Camera Buff', 'Blind Chance', and 'Decalogue' all explore similar situations.
The metaphysical element of 'No End', while intriguing in concept, doesn't work all that well on screen. We never get much sense for what Antoni's ghost is feeling. He's only in four scenes, and remains something of an enigma -- an impotent watcher who occasionally attempts to communicate with the living by leaving unexpected signs. Kieslowski uses Antoni's ghost as a metaphor for the average person constrained by martial law -- possessing a clear conscience yet unable to do anything to affect change.
Kieslowski quotes are from 'Kieslowski on Kieslowski', Faber and Faber, 1993.
© 1996 James Berardinelli