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A Short Film About Love
A Short Film About Love
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A Short Film About Love

A Short Film About Love

1988
Romance, Drama
1h 27m
19-year-old Tomek whiles away his lonely life by spying on his opposite neighbour Magda through binoculars... (imdb)

Directed by:

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Screenwriter:

Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz

Starring:

Artur Barcis, Grazyna Szapolowska, Olaf Lubaszenko, Stefania Iwinska, Piotr Machalica, Miroslawa Chojnacka, Malgorzata Rozniatowska, Jan Piechocinski, Emilia Ziólkowska, Stanislaw Gawlik, Jaroslawa Michalewska

Genres:

Romance, Drama

AKA:

Krótki film o milosci

Country:

Poland

Languages:

Polish, Portuguese
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A Short Film About Love

1988
Romance, Drama
1h 27m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 77.47% from 1512 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

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spunkieSpunkie
Rated 05 Apr 2007
93
99th
Kieslowski's treatment to a "rear window" love theme. He treats love with joy and boyishness rarely encountered in his films, but he also treats love as a problematic of life itself. The basic visuals of the film are some of the most eerie and powerful I have seen.
Rated 05 Apr 2007
icarusIcarus
Rated 07 Aug 2011
100
99th
Strikingly different from the shortened version that appears in Kieslowski's Decalogue (6), the film details the human need to love and be loved. The shy, loving teen and the older woman who scorns love rarely occupy the same frame, desiring but unable to truly connect. Only in the masterful final scenes, as the couple begins to feel and see through the eyes of the other, is the dangerous possibility of real love awakened--or crushed for good.
Rated 07 Aug 2011
suture_selfSuture Self
Rated 13 Jan 2009
7
67th
Simple and bittersweet.
Rated 13 Jan 2009
velocipedistvelocipedist
Rated 04 Feb 2008
90
98th
This is Kieslowski's commentary on the commandment "You shall not commit adultery". Adultery is seen as physical love lacking affection. It's sinfulness comes from the fact, that it actually kills the true love. True love is affectionate and rather than being physical is a state of mind.
Rated 04 Feb 2008
feublofeublo
Rated 22 May 2018
88
83rd
The two endings are both significant in their own way. Tomek is a mere model for those being initiated into their first experience of love/sexuality. It goes to show the impact it has via the ending of Dekalog 6. On the other hand, Magda gives us a recognizable character who simply lives through experiences of lust and finds herself bare of any form of love - until Tomek. Again the film lets you decide the extent of human desire and distinguishing what love/adultery really is.
Rated 22 May 2018
moribunnyMoribunny
Rated 17 May 2011
73
80th
There is not a lot of depth to A Short Film About Love, and the characters are quite crudely drawn, but for its seemingly light weight it carries impact. It is sentimental, but always tasteful, never trite. Because of the simplicity of the characterization, it relies crucially on acting, and that the three principal actors are perfectly type-cast and give powerful performances is indispensable to the film's artistic success.
Rated 17 May 2011
peaceanarchyPeaceAnarchy
Rated 19 Dec 2010
94
98th
Creepy and sad, but that's what makes it so poignant and fantastic. The characters are broken but endearing people and we get to witness a series of wonderful little moments in their lives. The changes from the Dekalog episode are slight but do help to flesh things out a little.
Rated 19 Dec 2010
giturragiturra
Rated 28 Sep 2010
99
86th
Oh my! what a beautiful heart wrenching movie this is. The story is minimal, the characters are mostly people you wouldn't normally root for, but it's one of the most poetic, romantic tragedies ever put on film. Kind of like a "Rear window" with an emotional twist. A simple story of people in search of love that don't know how to deal with their own lives, that becomes an examination of what love really is and how to deal with loss. It can make most men cry at the end. One of my favorite movies
Rated 28 Sep 2010
qvtQVT
Rated 30 Aug 2009
15
23rd
Hilariously bad. I know you're not supposed to laugh when a dude cuts himself to drink his own blood or when someone gets told they're being spied on so they move their bed into clear view so their watcher can see them suck a really 80s looking polish dudes dick. I know you're not supposed to laugh. But I don't know why.
Rated 30 Aug 2009
chemical404chemical404
Rated 08 Jul 2009
81
96th
Beautiful film, filled with masterful lighting and masterful shots. It's fragile, yet strong and unusual. Characters are well developed, alive. Score, composed by Zbigniew Preisner deserves a special mention. It fits the mood perfectly, even makes it stronger. My only complaint? Even at 80 minutes it feels a bit too long.
Rated 08 Jul 2009
willofgaiawillofgaia
Rated 14 Aug 2007
85
58th
Not as strong as Dekalog 6, but still everything you'd expect from Kieslowski, namely, that it's good
Rated 14 Aug 2007
vendettaVendetta
Rated 14 Aug 2007
96
95th
The most beautiful love movie ever made ..
Rated 14 Aug 2007
martintellerMartinTeller
Rated 24 Jan 2007
85
84th
This is pretty much exactly the same as Dekalog 6 except a little bit stretched out and with a slightly more hopeful ending. It's good, but if you've seen Dekalog there's not much point.
Rated 24 Jan 2007
glumpy99glumpy_99
Rated 26 Oct 2024
80
63rd
More pointed and focused than any DEKALOG episode; this finds Kieslowski going for a gut-punch of a finale and not quite following through, and it’s really in the character of Magda that the film falters because it’s difficult to understand her motivations; we see her largely as a fantasy figure via Tomek and she collapses when dragged into service as plotting anchor. Still Lubaszenko makes his grotty peeper consistently compelling, and there is no faulting Szapolowska’s exquisite performance.
Rated 26 Oct 2024
bzymusbzymus
Rated 01 Sep 2024
84
77th
audiovisual 82 acting 89 overall feeling 82 avg 84, fajny, niekonwencjonalny, ciekawi bohaterowie i idk co więcej powiedzieć, ale dobrze się oglądało
Rated 01 Sep 2024
vassagoVassago
Rated 19 Dec 2023
85
92nd
Haunting music.
Rated 19 Dec 2023
jschlanskyJSchlansky
Rated 17 Jun 2023
81
81st
Cougar next door fools around with young milkman but make it sad as fuck
Rated 17 Jun 2023
guyevertonguyeverton
Rated 28 Mar 2023
79
50th
I'm afraid I didn't quite believe or understand Magda's motivations here, and the film's message is problematic, especially viewed through 2023 eyes. That being said, KK does brilliantly in endearing us to Tomek in spite of his creepiness, and resists any urges for fairytale conclusions or gratuitous voyeurism through his own lens.
Rated 28 Mar 2023
bunyasBunyas
Rated 05 Mar 2023
77
79th
A short film about prying! (:
Rated 05 Mar 2023
lethiaslethias
Rated 19 Apr 2022
89
82nd
My first Kieslowski's Dekalog (well, spin off but okay). Beautifully alluring and a bit twisted slow-paced love story. Loved how movie plays with out perception of love and intimacy. What I found interesting was the woman's responses (feels a bit unnatural?) and the shift from external pleasure of love to internal. Lubaszenko's performance is excellent. A product of Lodz film school, cinematographically a master piece like all Kieslowski's films I've seen so far.
Rated 19 Apr 2022
metismetis
Rated 06 Aug 2021
99
99th
9??????????????????????/?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????/??????????????????????????????????????????????????(T ^ T)?
Rated 06 Aug 2021
chengmingchengming
Rated 06 Jun 2021
80
87th
Kieslowski manages to imbue a simple story with a couple of emotional moments (albeit not quite as powerful ones as the title had led me to believe). Storytelling is great as usual - even if there is a fair amount of dialogue, it is rarely needed to carry the movie.
Rated 06 Jun 2021
oncelmiranoncelmiran
Rated 01 Sep 2020
87
52nd
One of the remarkable scenes in the movie was when Tomek puts ice in his ears he does this to forget and get away from his love but he can't as he said he has a great memory and it is kind of a curse in his situation. Also after putting ice in his ears he then eats that ice like he tasted his own blood. This gave him great pleasure I think this scenes represented pleasure of pain and sorrow in a romantic relationship. overall this movie is one of the best Love movies that I have ever watched.
Rated 01 Sep 2020
ceekay19Ceekay19
Rated 07 Nov 2019
90
95th
Magda: "Why are you peeping at me?"
Rated 07 Nov 2019
gokseltuzungokseltuzun
Rated 24 Jan 2019
100
96th
dekalog
Rated 24 Jan 2019
aflickeringAFlickering
Rated 08 Nov 2018
4
55th
perhaps only kieslowski could make a "short film about love" about an invasive peeping tom and avoid the slightest pinch of irony, celebrating instead the binding potential of the gaze. the harsher, more judgemental conclusion of the DEKALOG version (on paper--i haven't seen it) is discarded in favour of an intimate moment of connection which, given how these characters are analogues for film and audience respectively, seems to burst through the screen.
Rated 08 Nov 2018
le_mamile mami
Rated 22 Oct 2016
80
81st
Didn't loved the ending in dekalog 6 too. I don't know. I just needed more pain, suffer and sadnees. This movie seems to me more like a sweet love story.
Rated 22 Oct 2016
sogolsogol
Rated 01 Oct 2016
85
88th
the girl come about knowing how she can hurt the feelings
Rated 01 Oct 2016
dardandardan
Rated 01 Jan 2016
88
91st
Kieslowski and Piesiewicz understood people.
Rated 01 Jan 2016
seydakesenseydakesen
Rated 27 Oct 2015
93
90th
herhalde beni oldureceksin kieslowski.
Rated 27 Oct 2015
mddglumddglu
Rated 03 Jun 2015
84
93rd
3.6.15
Rated 03 Jun 2015
thereeldealthereeldeal
Rated 26 Feb 2015
70
50th
A Short Film About Love contains much of Kieslowski's human compassion and interest in fatalism. I found the resolution of this story to be trite and disappointing, as the display of a man driven mad by his inability to express his obsession is far more interesting than an idealistic and bogus love story. I really wanted to like this one, and I really think Kieslowski took it in the dullest direction. I may rather watch Amateur and No End over this, even. At least those had some weight to them.
Rated 26 Feb 2015
ottott
Rated 29 Oct 2014
90
94th
For years I have been in love with this film. Now like meeting an old lover from the past... ...Only slightly, only slightly less then I used to, my love.
Rated 29 Oct 2014
sirstuckeySirStuckey
Rated 17 Jul 2014
85
87th
Thank you film class. I would never have seen (let alone heard about) this movie otherwise and it's quite good.
Rated 17 Jul 2014
qwershadyqwershady
Rated 11 May 2014
62
22nd
the only good one in the movie is POSTER. yea
Rated 11 May 2014
vandeniovandenio
Rated 26 Feb 2014
56
28th
I liked how the perspective was shifted from one character to another.
Rated 26 Feb 2014
kough33kough33
Rated 27 Dec 2013
79
85th
Love is contagious Mary Magdalena, isn’t it?
Rated 27 Dec 2013
redbardragonRedBarDragon
Rated 17 Nov 2013
100
90th
There are some movies that not only speak to you. They touch you. Sometimes they even hurt you. I give them 100% and I found a new member of this exclusive club on tv. I was bored and wanted to watch something. I thought I was in for a mediocre movie that will only dull my boredom. What I got was incredible. I was literally sitting in front of my TV with my mouth open by the end of this movie..
Rated 17 Nov 2013
ecitizeneCitizen
Rated 16 Jan 2013
10
2nd
A young man spies on his attractive older neighbor. He finally gets up the nerve to confess his attractions. However, when she accepts him, he runs away and cuts his wrists. WTF? Another good example of film stupidity. An abysmally stupid conclusion and ultimately pointless. I give it high points for style and the sheer oddity of it, but then I have to subtract away most of them due of the inane ending. All potential is lost when the plot inexplicably turns into pure rubbish.
Rated 16 Jan 2013
noam_razNoam Raz
Rated 11 Aug 2012
85
91st
This film had reveled to me, in the middle of my adolescent, when Art was an unknown mystery to me and so does Beauty, the somewhat quaint and vague nature of aesthetics.
Rated 11 Aug 2012
rufamRufam
Rated 09 Jul 2012
75
72nd
Better than "Krótki film o zabijaniu" because of an obviously more compelling storyline. This time, the simplistic main idea is even more banal but Kieslowski conveys his message (sweet and mildly optimistic, actually) in a more convincing and non-patronizing manner. Despite the great characters and the effective minimalistic camerawork however, the deliberate pacing and overall dullness are not justified.
Rated 09 Jul 2012
damildamil
Rated 26 Jun 2012
80
90th
I thought it was great. It was quite beautiful in its simplicity and minimalism. Not a lot actually happened in the story, but I was never bored. I was impressed with how it shifted perspective from one character to another. Recommended.
Rated 26 Jun 2012
bmilkybmilky
Rated 01 Nov 2011
80
49th
lovely funny story
Rated 01 Nov 2011
sengirsengir
Rated 30 Oct 2011
86
95th
A simple story told both beautifully and poetically, capturing a certain humane essence like only Kieslowski could. It's still unbelievable that 'the decalogue' contained 10 of these gems.
Rated 30 Oct 2011
fragolafragola
Rated 16 Jul 2011
93
58th
Fantastic, the dekalog's are
Rated 16 Jul 2011
spanksSpanks
Rated 02 Mar 2011
85
88th
I had a serious problem with all the voyeurism and obession in the beginning, but like classic Kieslowki, Tomek confessed to it fairly soon and the movie really takes off in the best way from that point. For a runtime of only about 80 minutes, it's a pretty impressive film and allows the viewer to come to their own conclusions.
Rated 02 Mar 2011
stevekimesstevekimes
Rated 21 Jan 2011
94
95th
A very intimate film about a peeping tom.
Rated 21 Jan 2011
neonmanNeonman
Rated 29 Dec 2010
89
90th
A well paced investigation in voyeurism, humiliation, adolescence, understanding, and neighbourly love.
Rated 29 Dec 2010
derekstarDerekstar
Rated 16 Nov 2010
70
50th
I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE ENDING OF THIS MOVIE.
Rated 16 Nov 2010
pickpocketPickpocket
Rated 05 Aug 2010
8
82nd
A simple but effective story on obsession, voyeurism and guilt. I liked how Kieslowski didn't reveal too much about Tomek and allows the viewer to add his own interpretations about why he is the way he is. It added another level to the film for me. Visuals are great and the actors were great too.
Rated 05 Aug 2010
theyshoot10theyshoot10
Rated 16 Jan 2010
51
1st
982
Rated 16 Jan 2010
darkmandarkman
Rated 29 Jul 2009
80
81st
Great characters.
Rated 29 Jul 2009
vandelay1Vandelay1
Rated 06 May 2009
84
94th
Nice Movie. Good Stalking Skills.
Rated 06 May 2009
whatismynamewhatismyname
Rated 30 Apr 2009
65
63rd
After watching and hating "A Short Film about Killing", I was about to think I would hate this as well. The story seems to put together better, and the interactions between all the characters (Tomek, his mother, and Magda) was quite enjoyable.
Rated 30 Apr 2009
empiremagempiremag
Rated 22 Apr 2009
4
71st
"This can't help but pale beside the emotional punch of A Short Film About Killing, but emerges as a near-masterpiece nonetheless."
Rated 22 Apr 2009
theyshoot08theyshoot08
Rated 19 Dec 2008
52
4th
967
Rated 19 Dec 2008
dorkovskyDorkovsky
Rated 03 Jul 2008
9
97th
Still a marvelous piece of cinema, but I much prefer the shorter Decalogue 6.
Rated 03 Jul 2008
theyshoot07theyshoot07
Rated 02 Mar 2008
54
26th
# 922
Rated 02 Mar 2008
vincentevincente
Rated 17 Dec 2007
85
90th
null
Rated 17 Dec 2007
driscarpindriscarpin
Rated 13 Feb 2007
100
99th
Quando assisti o longa Não Amarás há quase trinta anos eu era uma adolescente romântica ultra platônica e cujo livro favorito era o Werther de Goethe, ou seja, me identifiquei totalmente com aquele pós-adolescente do filme e achei o melhor e mais romântico filme do mundo. Pois então, os anos passaram e vejo que me tornei justamente a protagonista feminina cínica e é desse ponto de vista que o vejo hoje e mesmo assim ele continua um puta filme, é o filme definitivo sobre o encontro de
Rated 13 Feb 2007

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