Krzysztof Kieslowski: I'm So-So...

Krzysztof Kieslowski: I'm So-So...

One of the great post-war filmmakers, Krzysztof Kieslowski belatedly sputtered into the public consciousness with what were perhaps his best works—The Double Life Of Veronique and the Three Colors trilogy—before retiring in 1994 and dying two years later. Born in Poland, raised under Communism, and gifted with a vision that encompassed all of Europe, if not the world, Kieslowski combined a hard, knowing pessimism with a beautifully forgiving sense of humanity that at times bordered on the mystic. A quiet, unforthcoming man, Kieslowski gave few interviews, which makes the 1995 documentary I'm So-So…, assembled by longtime collaborators, all the more important for admirers of his work. Not that Kieslowski breaks character. Interviewed about his life and work, he more often challenges questions than answers them outright. It may not be outright surliness so much as the result of his reluctance to presume authority and privileged knowledge, a trait that runs throughout his work. "Knowing is not my business. Not knowing is," Kieslowski responds at one point, a fitting answer from a director whose work so often dealt with the mysterious, unknowable intersections of human existence. Anyone not familiar with Kieslowski's films will likely be frustrated; simply put, he's not the most animated documentary subject. But for anyone who misses his unique voice, however guarded and intentionally open to multiple interpretations as it was, it should be a pleasure.

 
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