The 1980s Poland was a country of empty stores and long lines of people, standing all night and day to buy virtually anything. This film takes a look at such a gigantic queue and recreates its surreal dialogues and atmosphere.

Being active in the Armed Forces, the regime’s youngest opponents were the only ones not tainted or overwhelmed by it. These people came of age just as the first free elections were held and the Autumn of Nations was born – the best possible time. They were jealous of the generation of ’68 and of those who had set up the Workers Defence Committee. They were counting on big things post-1989 and were expecting political clout to come their way. They soon became discouraged

This is a beautifully made and totally engrossing feature-length retrospective portrait of Kieslowski by a former student of his who is now one of Poland's finest documentary filmmakers. Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz gives a lot of attention to the beginnings of Kieslowski’s career: his studies at the Lodz Film School and his first documentary films. The film recounts as fully as possible the artistic path of Kieslowski and the character of the man, presenting a portrait of a fulfilled artist, of a director wholly engaged in the drama of the time of his protagonists. An important aspect of the documentary is how it tries to explain the phenomenon of Kieslowski’s reception in Poland and abroad, as well as an analysis what is the standing of his work today and who is following in his footsteps. The film is richly illustrated with archival material as well as excerpts from the student, documentary, and feature films of Krzysztof Kieslowski. Zmarz-Koczanowicz uses the late director's own words as well as scraps of memories kept by his friends and colleagues: Wim Wenders, Agnieszka Holland, Slawomir Idziak, Jacek Petrycki, Grazyna Szapolowska, Tadeusz Sobolewski, Irene Jacob, Zbigniew Preisner, Marcin Latallo, Juliette Binoche, Andrzej Titkow, Andreas Veiel, Krzysztof Zanussi, and others. Loved and admired, Kieslowski was a filmmaker's filmmaker: "Cinema is about drudgery. It is about getting up early, about not sleeping at night, about fretting, about rain. This is cinema, this is real cinema. And the moments of satisfaction happen seldom." LINKS: