Director - Krzysztof Kieslowski
When Witek’s father dies he quits medical school and we witness three versions of his life play out, one after the other. Kieslowski’s masterpiece about possible futures, fate and chance was suppressed by the Polish government and didn’t receive a cinematic release until 1987, and even then it was heavily edited. Extremely good, highly recommended especially for anyone who liked the concept of Sliding Doors but not the actual film.
Director - Stuart Cooper
One of those ‘adapted from the stage’ films that struggles to get away from its theatre roots. John Hurt is on fire as perma-angry Malcolm, who having been thrown out of art school is determined to get back at his teacher by kidnapping him. Suffers from the usual stage adaptation problem of being very talky and trundling along quite slowly. Despite some great actors (Hurt and David Warner are both up to their usual standard), you can’t help but think they they were already way to old to be playing angry teens. The humour feels ever so dated too, the analogy between Malcolm not being able to get an erection and not being much of a political leader quickly becomes tiresome. All a bit ho-hum really, only worth a watch if you really want to see John Hurt acting his young socks off.
