Blind Chance
Although the movie was made in 1981, it had its premiere in 1987. The delay was because of state-imposed censorship due to the film's political content.,1. Werner: I intend to give you my current thoughts on an idea I've been committed to for 40 years. Every generation yearns for light. It needs reassurance and faith that the world can be better and a fairer place. This yearning which is older than Marx and younger than Marx, is like a drug. Early in life it brings joy, because the light seems so near and within reach. At life's end it brings bitterness, because the light has grown once again. In these 40 years I've lived through many things and the light seems further away than ever before, and thus I shouldn't encourage you, but you can be sure of one thing: without bitterness and this hope, life would be pitiful indeed.,The film was scheduled for release in 1981, but was suppressed by the Polish government due to its criticism of Communist regime. The film was eventually released in 1987 with some of the politically sensitive material cut (these cuts totalling roughly 9 minutes). The film has since been released in a uncut form, however one of the scenes involving Witek being beaten by the train guard remains lost.,Featured in Century of Cinema: 100 lat w kinie (1995),The recent romantic comedy 'Sliding Doors' postulated what might happen if a character caught, or did not catch, a particular train. But master Polish film maker Krzysztof Kieslowski had had this idea twenty years earlier, and in his film 'Blind Chance', he used it to much more serious purpose: to explore the interplay of chance and character in the fate of a man. At the same time, he painted a picture of Poland in a state of flux (the film was made during the period of martial law, and duly suppressed for five years); and of the way the same moral choices confront everyone, albeit in different forms. The film lacks the high artistry of his subsequent works, but his ability to distill the essence of life into minimalist drama is already much in evidence. The stark awfulness of the communist regime may have aided him in this, as evidenced by the looser, more mystical nature of his final, French-set work. But his greatest achievements, the openly political 'No End' and the perfect morality plays of the 'Dekalog', can each be seen as natural extensions of the themes of 'Blind Chance'.

In the film's final scene, an aircraft takes off, but to us, it appears as if it is sinking into the earth. The world of cinema is poorer without its director and his bleak, poetic visions.,