Northwest Film Forum

One moment, one train, three completely different outcomes. From Director Krzysztof Kieślowski comes a film examining the effect of even the smallest of choices.

Twenty-year-old Witek Dlugosz rushes to make a train to Warsaw, his hometown, after the death of his father. Crashing into a man drinking beer, Witek is barely able to pull himself aboard by the final car’s handrail. On the train, he encounters an old communist, who convinces him to join the Communist Party. All seems fine until his beautiful lover Czuszka is arrested by the same party where his allegiance lies. Their love falters, she rejects him, and Witek is left alone.

Back in the station, Witek crashes hard into the man drinking beer, delaying him enough to miss his train. On the railway, he smacks into a guard and is arrested. Angry, he joins the anti-Communist resistance, thus launching another sequence of events that leaves him alone and distrusted.

Finally, in the station again, Witek misses the train because he gets slowed down by the man with the beer, but stops to catch his breath, avoiding the guard from the second scenario. He sees Olga at the platform, the two return to her apartment, make a child, and get married. Witek finds the motivation to finish medical school, and with newfound responsibilities, he refuses to associate with any political party, avoiding the Communists completely and forging a happy life for himself.

Blind Chance was heavily censored by the communist regime, due to its anti-Communist messages. The now restored version of the film comprises scenes never before been shown to the public. Part of our series Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema.

• Get a series pass and see all of the Masterpieces of Polish Cinema at a discount!  $70 ($40 for Film Forum Members) >