Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

A Short Film About Love Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 30, 2019

Krzysztof Kieslowski's "A Short Film About Love" (1988) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Curson/Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; archival interviews with actress Grazyna Szapolowska and assistant sirector Emmanual Finkel; the short film "Tramway"; and more. In Polish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The voyeur

I can’t find any flaws with the two versions of this story, which is a bit odd because if one of them is ‘perfect’ then the other ought to be inferior. And in the longer version Krzysztof Kieslowski actually does alter a few crucial details that produce a different finale, which makes the brilliance of the two versions even more impressive.

Virtually everything that takes places in the film is seen through the eyes of a young man, quite possibly in his early twenties, who has fallen madly in love with an older woman, almost certainly in her mid- thirties. They both live in the same quiet suburb of Warsaw, in old, gray, and very ugly high-rises that are facing each other but are far enough so that their residents can’t quite see how their neighbors live. However, the woman is completely unaware how the man feels about her. In fact, she does not even know who he is.

It is because Tomek (Olaf Lubaszenko) is a voyeur who has been spying on Magda (Grazyna Szapolowska) with a cheap telescope from the comfort of his room. He has memorized her daily routine and over time even managed to identify the most important people in her life -- all busy men who would stop by her place only to make love to her. Tomek has also found Magda’s phone number and called a few times to disrupt ‘romantic’ evenings that she does not deserve.

After a heated dispute at the local post office where Tomek works, Magda finally becomes aware of her secret admirer’s feelings, and then goes out on a ‘date’ with him. Tomek’s sincerity surprises her and she even begins to understand how he feels, but at the end of their ‘date’ she humiliates him and turns his life upside down. Then, while thinking about her impulsive decision to do so, she begins reevaluating the way she has lived her life and what it actually means to be in love.

A Short Film About Love is as much about love as it is about loneliness and making sense of existence in a totalitarian society where people are living a big lie that cannot be openly confronted. Kieswloski captures the surreal nature of this existence with a surgical precision but presents the truth with a poetic touch that makes his film exceptionally versatile -- it works as a romantic drama, suspenseful character study, and an unorthodox socio-political eye-opener.

While Tomek’s suffering receives most of the attention, the huge emotional void that exists in Magda’s life is equally important to the story and its progression. Why? Because upon closer inspection it becomes very clear that Magda is simply better at hiding her desperation to connect with someone that can make her existence meaningful. It is irrelevant that her daily routine as an artist is busier and she interacts with a bigger and more diverse group of people -- in the grand scheme of things they are all strangers passing through her life while creating instantly forgettable experiences for her.

The last segment with Magda looking through the telescope, which changes the nature of the finale that exists in the shorter version of the story in Dekalog, is the universal summation of life on the other side of the Iron Curtain – an illusion, and an utter waste. Magda simply comes to the inevitable conclusion that it is so after an unorthodox ‘relationship’ with another dreamer.

The wonderful soundtrack was created by award-winning composer Zbigniew Preisner (Three Colors Trilogy).

A Short Film About Love Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Krzysztof Kieslowski's A Short Film About Love arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Curzon/Artificial Eye.

I am a little less enthusiastic about the technical presentation of A Short Film About Love than I was about A Short Film About Killing. Just to be clear, the Blu-ray release still offers a a very solid upgrade in quality over the old R2 DVD release, but some of the darker areas feel slightly less detailed than I wanted them to be. I think that some encoding optimizations could have been made to ensure better results, but I am also going to speculate that the master could have been finalized even more carefully. There are some traces of light surface corrections that affect shadow definition, plus depth isn't as convincing as it should be (you can see examples in screencaptures #10 and 12). The color grading is good, but the effects of the corrections that I mentioned above have an impact on some darker nuances. Image stability is excellent. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

A Short Film About Love Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Polish LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio has been remastered and I think that the basic qualities of the lossless track are very solid. Clarity, depth, and overall balances are outstanding. The soundtrack does not have a great dynamic amplitude, but the music sounds wonderful throughout the film.

A Short Film About Love Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for A Short Film About Love. In Polish, with imposed English subtitles. (3 min).

• Presentation of the Film by Thierry Jousse - this archival introduction was produced for MK2 in France. In French, with optional English subtitles. (3 min).

• Interview with Grazyna Szapolowska - in this archival interview, Grazyna Szapolowska, who plays Magda, recalls her work with Krzysztof Kieslowski on A Short Film About Love and discusses his attitude toward Polish and international actors, as well as the evolution of the director's career. In Polish, with imposed English subtitles. (8 min).

• Interview with Assistant Director Emmanual Finkel - in this archival interview, assistant director Emmanual Finkel recalls his initial impressions of Krzysztof Kieslowski and discusses his working methods. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (18 min).

• Interview with Annette Insdorff - in this archival interview, critic Annette Insdorf discusses A Short Film About Love. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (8 min).

• Tramway (1995) - a short film about a boy who meets a beautiful girl in a tram and does his best to impress her. (6 min).

A Short Film About Love Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This particular story, a shorter version of which appears in Dekalog, is probably my favorite. Here Krzysztof Kieslowski does alter a few crucial details that produce a different finale, but I think that it is just as brilliant. Many years ago, I saw A Short Film About Love in the theater and then I had to wait a long time before I was finally able to purchase Dekalog on VHS. I have this ancient DVD release in my library and the Blu-ray most definitely offers a good upgrade in quality, but I think that the remaster could have been even more convincing. (If you decide to order a copy for your collection, keep in mind that A Short Film About Killing is also out on Blu-ray via Curzon/Artificial Eye). RECOMMENDED.