Long time no see

Just back from a long overseas trip. The only thing related to Kieslowski during the trip was that I bought the Veronique DVD.

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Is This [Kino Kieslowski] Chat Dead?

Kieslowski's short films

Revelations of the Human Soul, written by Kathy Fennessy for the Seattle International Film Festival.

Full screening schedule available from here.

劫數難逃？

百老匯電影中心的《奇斯洛夫斯基》特刊重登了李志毅1994年的奇斯洛夫斯基專訪，其中提到一件「真人真事」的「笑話」：

一名富翁害怕乘搭飛機時會遇上炸彈驚魂，連忙著手下查問出現這種事情的機會率，得出的答案是五萬七千分之一。然而富翁仍不安心，再追問飛機上同時出現兩枚炸彈的機會率是多少？資料顯示機會率是億分之一，富翁聽後安然吩咐手下替他購買一枚炸彈先放上飛機，這樣自己再遇上另一枚炸彈的機會便會減到億份之一...結果，冥冥中飛機上竟真有另一枚炸彈，富翁劫數難逃。

真是一宗很「奇斯洛夫斯基」式的個案啊！

簡單地說，這是一個隨著某個決定發生某個結果的故事。多數人感興趣的，自然是「決定」和「結果」的相互關係：究竟「富翁劫數難逃」，是命定，意外，還是甚麼？

這個短短的故事當然不能就此命題提供答案。如同奇氏的電影一樣，它為讀者提供了寬闊的思考和辯論空間。

但是，故事本身卻為那個「決定」的達成提供了不少資料。我們知道：

• 富翁心裏有陰影，恐怕乘搭飛機時會遇上炸彈爆炸
• 發生炸彈爆炸的機會，如果是五萬七千分之一，富翁認為過高，未必會乘搭飛機
• 發生炸彈爆炸的機會，如果是億分之一，富翁認為可以接受，會乘搭飛機
• 富翁認為自攜炸彈，就可將遇上另一炸彈的機會，減至億分之一
• 富翁決定自攜炸彈乘搭飛機...

一個很理智的決策過程。

可是...

他的手下
和他自己...

都對或然率的掌握有限...

自攜炸彈，不可能將遇上另一炸彈的機會，減至億分之一
機會仍會是五萬七千分之一，一個令他不安的水平...

假如當時有人指出這點...

富翁會乘搭飛機嗎
此後的一切將會改寫嗎...

誰能說得準呢？

沒有歸宿的靈魂

沒有歸宿的靈魂─奇士勞斯基的人文悲劇電影（一） | （二） | （三） | （四） | （五） | （六） | （七） | （八） | （九） | （十） | （十一）（宋國誠，破報）

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破報網站 | 破報新網站 測試版

Kieslowski never really found grace

Christianity Today Movies features Kieslowski in its latest "Filmmakers of Faith" series:

The films of Krzyzstof Kieslowski are haunted by spiritual imagery, and yet the Polish director never really found grace—or got past "the God of the Old Testament … who ruthlessly demands obedience."

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Further reading: The Ten Commandments Become Flesh: A Polish director prods European and American audiences to consider God's timeless standards

Kieslowski retrospectives

Being the 10th anniversary of Kieslowski's death, this year has seen, and will see, a lot of "Kieslowski retrospectives". Check out the "Events" section of Weronika's World, Krzysztof Kieslowski et Irenka (in French), or Kino Kieslowski - Chat for information.

Weronika's World

Weronika's World is one of the few Kieslowski sites that are still active these days.

According to Alexandre Fabbri, "Weronika's World was created to look at the kind of questions that Kieslowski was asking in his films."

He has also just started a blog (The Blog of Weronika's World), with Discussion on the non-documentary films of Krzysztof Kieslowski as the inaugural entry.

Uncaptive Mind

Many critics have concluded that Kieslowski's art was an exotic, twisted plant unable to bloom without political repression and state censorship. But that conclusion is unfair. What does the magnificent example of Czeslaw Milosz tell us, if not that Polish artists can thrive in freedom and even survive consumerism? (Uncaptive Mind by Martha Bayles)

Counterfeit, metaphysical gibberish, professional mystification

Just came across a profile on Kieslowski written by Ewa Nawoj and Jan Strekowski more than 2 years ago for Polish Culture.

Kieslowski is generally revered all over the world as one of the greatest directors. But he remains a controversial figure within his own country. Read, for example, how the authors end the profile:

This penchant for using signs is equally evident in Kieslowski's other films of this period. Kornatowska perceives this last stage of Kieslowski's oeuvre as the director's effort to join in the "fashionable, world, pop-metaphysical current." And she is hardly alone in holding this view.

Kieslowski was a controversial director. This is something that even such a great enthusiast of Krzysztof Kieslowski's cinema as Stanislaw Zawislinski readily admits, writing in the previously cited book:

"What delights some about Kieslowski's current cinema annoys and repulses others. What appears to some to be fresh, innovative, wise, moving, penetrating, to others seems 'counterfeit,' 'metaphysical gibberish,' 'professional mystification.'"

才子回望奇斯洛夫斯基

香港影庫──王進角度 07/2006專題: 才子看天下 － 回顧奇斯洛夫斯基

《沉重的肉身》

劉小楓的《沉重的肉身—現代倫理的敘事緯語》內有三專章剖析奇斯洛夫斯基其人及其電影。

好文章理應一讀再讀，更何況今年是奇氏的十年祭？

《沉重的肉身—現代倫理的敘事緯語》 （新浪網 讀書頻道）

- 「性感、死感、歌聲」（《薇娥妮卡的雙重生命》）
- 「愛的碎片的驚鴻一瞥」（總論奇斯洛夫斯基）
- 「艱難的自由倫理」（《十誡》的倫理觀）

奇書讀後

看罷奇斯洛夫斯基十年祭特刊，內容出乎意料地尚可接受。

楊秀慧、家明、湯禎兆、羅展鳳和也斯的文章雖非傑作，但也並不失禮。

朱瓊愛和李志毅的訪問稿，如今讀來，還是饒有趣味。

《號外》去年的三篇訪問稿，是難能可貴的有心人之舉。

當然，畢明和李照興的，一如以往，必屬爛文。

麥聖希其人其文，以往未曾接觸。他寫的序，倒是羞家得很。或許他認為，作為十年祭策劃，便理所當然地是序文人選。即使如此，也應交出一篇較似樣的功課呀。

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湯禎兆談「奇斯洛夫斯基」

奇氏特刊拿到手了

承朋友甲餽贈和朋友乙帶貨，香港百老匯電影中心為奇氏十年祭出版的特刊《奇斯洛夫斯基 Kieslowski》終於拿到手了。

內容爾爾，印刷精美。

有的文章以前已見過面，有的是新相識，這一兩天務必好好讀讀。

Blaming Kieslowski for ...

the popularity of the "multi-narrative, pseudo-serendipitous, ain’t-life-ironic" genre? (Peter Keouch, The Phoenix, 4/10/06)

我們無暇談論感情...

郝譽翔談奇士勞斯基電影

人性真誠，是奇士勞斯基的最高信條。在自傳《奇士勞斯基論奇士勞斯基》中，他說道拍電影的動機就在於：「我們無暇談論感情。我想那才是真正的癥結所在。或是我們沒有時間感受與感情有密切關係的激情。於是我們的生命就這樣從我們的指隙間流逝了。」也因此，他不用哲學的思辨，去討論譬如「自由」、「平等」、「博愛」等概念，而是要回到生活之中，觀察人如何去實踐這些道德的信念。他也從不迴避人性中的恐懼、怯懦、孤獨與自私，因為就在不完美中，我們才能領悟到命運的神秘，並且體驗到真誠與道德的關聯。

Kino Kieslowski blog

Kino Kieslowski

Not an active community blog, with only three entries so far in 2006.

Don't get mixed up with the Kino Kieslowski site though. The latter is one of the earliest sites dedicated to Kieslowski, and is sadly one of the few which is still surviving (only just). Its chat page used to be a busy one.

Kieslowski's Grave

Powazki Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland

(Wikimedia Commons)

Lodz Walk-of-fame

Lodz is the second largest city of Poland.

(HuBar, Wikimedia Commons)

Kieslowski's father sent him to a fireman's training college at around 16. He got fed up after 3 months and went back home. Many different schools later, he got into the College for Theatre Technicians in Warsaw through a distant uncle. There he "fell totally in love with the theatre" and decided to become a theatre director. He appplied for the Lodz Film School "to become a film director, as a way of becoming a theatre director".

He was rejected twice before being accepted on his third attempt, though by then he said he had stopped liking the theatre:

"I decided that I didn't want to be a theatre director at all any more, or any sort of director for that matter. Even less a film director. In the meantime, of course, I worked because I had to have something to live on."

Despite his claim, he graduated from that famed film school and went on to become a great film director.

(Extracted from Kieslowski on Kieslowski edited by Danusia Stok)

Mr Kieslowski, how are you?

奇斯洛夫斯基先生，你好嗎？那年的電影節以「藍」作開幕電影。那年，你親自來香港參加首演，與你見過面。

我負責宣傳工作，某個下午在大會堂安排了訪問，兼帶了官方攝影師拍照，當晚就要發佈大師來港的圖文。那次見面的細節都忘了，但那天發佈的照片卻非常難忘。 ... (Streaming Thoughts, Flowing Visions, 31/8/06)

真希望那張照片能重現人間！

Kieslowski and smoking

In Memoriam - Krzysztof Kieslowski: To Smoke and Drink in L.A. (Harvey Weinstein)

He drank too much and smoked too much, he was proud, arrogant, entertainingly cynical - in other words, my kind of guy.

At every film festival and award ceremony, ..., Krzysztof was always there with his Polish vodka and his cigarettes, even when the event was in that smoker's hell known as L.A. I always had to assign one person on my staff to figure out where he could smoke, and, after three vodkas, my normal competitive nature was so dull that I didn't care if
we won or lost.

Krzysztof came to the Oscars last year even though they were in L.A. We found the smoking area in the Shrine for him, but had a much tougher time with the Governors Ball. He smuggled in the Polish vodka and I joined happily in his conspiracy.

An interview with Kieslowski in the 21-27 March 2004 issue

"I have no interest at all in working in the U.S. ... And besides, if I come over to work in America I will feel that with my cigarette smoking I will be disturbing everyone."

Krzysztof Kieslowski - Blue-White-Red & Green (Alex Waterhouse-Hayward)

I photographed him for the Globe & Mail on October 7, 1994. ... Kieslowski did not look well and he was chain smoking. I go this impression that he was not going to be around for long. A year later he had a heart attack and barely recovered. ... As he looked straight into my camera I saw a man who was preparing to die.

(Click the above text block to view the "preparing to die" photo of Kieslowski, with cigarette in his hand)

Mr Kieslowski, how are you? (Streaming Thoughts, Flowing Visions)

於是就讓你站在展板前，受傷的手放在胸前，另一隻手手指夾著抽了一半的煙，深遽的眼定睛看著鏡頭，表情滿不在乎的，不笑，卡擦…就拍下了。

老闆說，政府大花金錢宣傳反吸煙，你點可以發d咁有形的食煙相？好像還有同事加口說，係喎係喎得唔得架。我老闆是又叻又形又喜歡講笑的人。相，當然發了，是我最難忘的宣傳照。

我相信，你的眼睛能射穿鏡頭；我知道，你知道這吸煙照帶著一點反叛。大會堂內，根本不能點煙；我也並不真的很趕，我只覺得，你的照片不能太正規，萬一時間拖長了，我怕沒有點第二枝煙的機會。

Kieslowski's Decalogue, I and II (finfelt)

This is way OT, but my favorite story about Kieslowski is that before his death he was so horrified at the militant non-smoking regulations in L.A. that he wanted to do a two-parter about heaven and hell, with hell represented by...L.A..

Three Colors: Red (1993) (American Cinematographer)

After confirming at a press conference that Red will be his directorial swan song (and it was), he states plaintively that, "My real dream is to be in the countryside, sitting on a chair, smoking."

Kieslowski's many colours (Patrick Abrahamson)

And now, at what appears to be the height of his creative talent, he has confounded viewers and critics alike by deciding to retire from directing to his country home, as he puts it, to: "smoke, read, and mow my lawn."

Retirement has, however, not been the "sitting at home and smoking cigarettes" that he had originally envisioned. "It's not that simple to sever contacts with everything that you've done for the past years. ..."

Krzysztof Kieslowski the pocket essential guide (Monika Maurer)

In 1994, at the height of his creative powers, Kieslowski stunned lovers of European cinema by announcing his retirement. He had made enough money to keep himself in cigarettes, he said. Two years later he was dead.

The panel "Colour me Kieslowski" (Oleksiy Radynski)

When Agnieszka Holland came to Poland in the beginning of the 1970’s and was introduced to a young Polish documentarist, who was admired only by a couple of colleagues but already had a habit of permanent smoking, it was impossible for her to guess that, 35 years later, she’d be discussing his art in this company.

The Look of Love

Eric Hynes on A Short Film About Love (Reverse Shot, Late Summer 2006)

Which ending for Criterion's Veronique?

As mentioned earlier, Criterion will be releasing The Double Life of Veronique in November. An interesting question arises: Which ending will Criterion use? The original version, the American version, or both?

According to Kieslowski (Kieslowski on Kieslowski, p.188), "As it is there are two versions of Veronique because I made a different one for America. We see a man emerge from a house which we already know and he calls, 'Veronique! It's cold. Come inside.' 'Dad!' Veronique says and runs to him. And cuddles up to him. That's the ending for America."

Annette Insdorf (Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski, p.135) elaborates: "It is noteworthy that Kieslowski added this ending for American audiences after the film's U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival. As Harvey Weinstein ... recalled in Premiere, Kieslowski hoped to clarify the ending ... The last shot of the French version merely shows Veronique placing her hand on the tree before her father's house."

So, the two endings are essentially the same. The American one is just more obvious. Kieslowski says this on the American eding, "It's obvious that that's her family home. You know that the man's her father. But as I've said, it hadn't been clear to the Americans before that he was her father. Maybe it was some other man fiddling around with the timber. How can you know?"

Yeah, how can the Americans know!

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(updated 9/9) According to Alain of Irenka, the Criterion materials will be the same as those of mk2, which means that only the original ending will be included (see discussions at Kino Kieslowski).

舒琪遇上奇斯洛夫斯基的故事

舒琪是香港資深影評人，也是「藝術電影」發行商。當年他為香港引入奇斯洛夫斯基的《十誡》系列、《情誡》、《殺誡》和其他作品的VCD，功德無量。和今天的情況不一樣，當年《十誡》、《情誡》、《殺誡》是在世界各地均難以買到的。我在在人間外吞雲吐霧的奇斯洛夫斯基中，寫到香港的奇氏迷真有福，講的正是這批「創造社」VCD。

下面是舒琪網誌中兩篇關於奇斯洛夫斯基的文章：
- 遇上奇斯洛夫斯基
- 致維朗妮嘉與維朗妮嘉

Kieslowski's Inescapable Moral Horizons

Kieslowski's Inescapable Moral Horizons (Thomas Hibbs)

奇斯洛夫斯基有參與撰寫《情獄》劇本嗎？

坦奴域治（Danis Tanovic）導演的《情獄》（L'Enfer/Hell)一般被稱為奇斯洛夫斯基去世前與老拍檔皮舍維茲（Krzystof Piesiewicz）合作撰寫的《天堂、地獄、煉獄》三部曲的第二部曲。

其實，奇斯洛夫斯基並沒有參與撰寫《情獄》的劇本。或者，應該說來不及參與撰寫。

奇斯洛夫斯基在95年宣佈退休後，除了抽煙抽個不亦樂乎外，還與現任波蘭國會議員的皮舍維茲商討下一個三部曲計劃。據皮舍維茲表示，奇斯洛夫斯基當時無意親自執導。不幸地，奇氏在96年3月就因手術失敗去世。

在奇氏去世前，他們已訂好三部曲的大綱，而且《天堂》(後由蒂克偉Tom Tykwer執導）的劇本亦已完成或大致完成。是以《天堂》一片是以奇斯洛夫斯基和皮舍維茲為共同編劇的。

到了《情獄》，情況就較為覆雜。在發行商的網頁上，關於編劇是這樣寫的：'Krzystof Piesiewicz in consultation with Agnieszka Lipiec Wroblewska according to an original idea of trilogy "the paradise, the hell, purgatory" of Krzystof Kieslowski and Krzystof Piesiewicz'（Babelfish的法英翻譯）。即是說是由皮舍維茲根據大綱撰寫劇本的（在IMDb網頁上，編劇是Krzysztof Kieslowski (scenario)，Krzysztof Piesiewicz，意思大致相同）。

相關閱讀：Heaven: An Interview with Krzystof Piesiewicz, Screenwriter for The Decalogue

羅展鳳映畫音樂隨筆

真真該打，竟到今天才知道羅展鳳的網誌的存在（流動的光影聲色：羅展鳳映畫音樂隨筆）。

羅展鳳是一位香港影評人，專注電影音樂。她的《映畫x音樂》是上佳之作。

從她的網誌帳號 zbigniew820 不難猜到，普列斯納（Zbigniew Preisner）是她鍾愛的電影音樂家，而奇斯洛夫斯基（Krzysztof Kieslowski）是她敬重的導演。

下面是其中幾篇她寫關於奇斯洛夫斯基或普列斯納的文章：
- 以光影聲色書寫靈魂：奇斯洛夫斯基x普列斯納
- Remebering Kieslowski
- 我的冷文學

另：羅展鳳的簡體網誌

命運 機遇 花開 花落

林震宇談No End及奇斯洛夫斯基式際遇

《無休無止》不單是理解《十誡》世界觀的指示路牌，片中的喪夫之痛，再由後來的《藍》(Three Coloues: Blue,1993)來延續，而《藍》又緊扣著《白》和《紅》，「藍白紅三部曲」又是法國與波蘭的對照，一切都是無休無止，命運與機會的衍化。

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林震宇另外兩篇關於奇斯洛夫斯基的網誌文：
Zbigniew Preisner的秘密花園
兩生花開花落

我的奇士勞斯基的潰散與糾纏

顏忠賢：我的奇士勞斯基的潰散與糾纏（時報部落格, 19/8/06）

Kieslowski joins Criterion

Fans of Kieslowski's Veronique and the Criterion Collection, rejoice! Criterion will be releasing The Double Life of Veronique in dual-layer DVD-9 in November.

The cover design of the forthcoming Criterion release compares unfavourably with that of the MK2 and Australian releases, although it is the only one which emphasizes the importance of reflective materials in the movie.

煙不離手的奇斯洛夫斯基

偶然發現一張荷蘭奇斯洛夫斯基回顧展的海報，跟香港回顧展一樣，都是強調他終日煙不離手，吞雲吐霧。

《兩生花》之再生花

04年底，我又在澳洲電視台重看了《兩生花》，還是覺得「百看不厭」，於是在網誌上寫了短短幾句。

當時可能是看完電影又聽原聲帶吧，忽發奇想，拿著CD的背面側側地在日照下拍了一張相片放在文中。相片中有Veronique，也有反射的家中一角。我的習慣，是在網誌上小圖link大圖，但當時我只放了小圖，想必是對相片不大滿意。其後更是將它完全忘掉了。

最近忽然發現阿麥書房部落格的一篇文章用了這張相片。這除了令我重新記起它的存在外，更讓我對它另眼相看：既然世上至少有一個人覺得它有被貼的價值，想必是它還真的不壞啊！

於是我眾裡尋它，最後在電腦的某個燈火闌珊角落找到原圖，然後將它放在flickr上。

幾天前，竟然有人在flickr看過相片後，來電郵問能否使用。

既然世上至少有兩個人覺得它有被貼的價值，那它毫無疑問，是張傑片！ - 我現在是這樣認為的 :-)

（補記）
找到原圖後，我企圖回想相片是怎樣拍出來的。是一張透明的，有Veronique的東西嗎？不會吧，我好像沒有類似的物件。最有可能是來自原聲帶！CD拿來後，看看背面，然後左擺擺，右擺擺。對了，就是這樣弄出來的。

至於何以有此構圖意念，我真的忘掉了，也可能根本沒有甚麼意念可言，急就章而已。不過，假若我今天憑這相片拿了甚麼大獎，要發言的話，我一定會說，是影片中反射景物的透明膠球賦予我構圖靈感。

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兩張異曲同工的照片。Yanan Wang作品。

《兩生花》戲票

看思存的網誌，方知他是奇斯洛夫斯基的《兩生花》的超級擁躉。離譜的是，他那張94年大華戲院的戲票至今還保留著。

如此行徑，9成9是病態。但也好在有此種病態人物，才能夠保存這麼值得珍惜的東西。思存，票也存！

我自己呢？是在90年代初在澳洲的民族電視台（SBS）看的，還錄了下來。故此，縱使《兩生花》的DVD姍姍來遲，至今年才面世，我卻可以經常拿錄影帶來收看，直至數年前錄影機暴卒為止。

「奇斯洛夫斯基十年祭」別注專書

（初見「別注專書」一詞時我真搞不懂它有何深義？卻原來，「別注」是東洋進口貨，意即「特別」。因此，「別注專書」，在我這個老土阿伯眼中，其實不過是「特別專書」，亦即是「專書」的「煞有介事版」。）

「在人間外吞雲吐霧的奇斯洛夫斯基」 逝世十週年修訂版

本文原為2001年，即奇氏逝世五週年之作，其後亦間有修改增添。今趁十週年紀念之便作重大修訂。全文如下：

波蘭導演奇斯洛夫斯基（Krzysztof Kieslowski，或譯奇士勞斯基，基斯洛夫斯基，基耶斯洛夫斯基）離開人間轉眼十年。十年，要虛度可真容易，但在奇氏手中，卻已成就一生。自1988年開始的幾年間，奇氏的後期傑作《十誡》（The Decalogue）電視電影系列（另加後來獨立成篇的電影《殺誡》（A Short Film About Killing）及《 情誡》（A Short Film About Love）），《兩生花》（The Double Life of Veronique）及《三色》（Three Colours）系列（《藍》、《白》和《紅》）相繼完成，奠定他在電影史上的地位 -- 這他不感興趣 -- 也使他賺取足夠的香煙錢，於1995年宣佈退休。不料，電影工作的中止，不久亦帶來他生命的終結。奇氏以54之齡，於1996年3月去世。

奇斯洛夫斯基的《十誡》，是他為波蘭的電視台拍攝。雖然拍攝環境艱苦，資金緊絀，其成果卻令人一新耳目。這十部不足一小時的「短片」﹐樸實沉鬱，悲觀中帶關懷，發人深省，風格與他前期的作品一脈相承。其後，他獲得外國資金在歐洲多處拍了他最後的四部電影，電影感極強，影象音樂皆甚為講究，故事題旨視野更闊。雖然一些觀眾（包括筆者）對他後期作品的風格化略有微言，但無可否認，《兩生花》及《三色》系列是九十年代，甚至是電影史上的典範之作。

奇斯洛夫斯基從電影學院畢業後，長期從事非故事紀錄片導演的工作，養成他通過鏡頭審視人生的習慣。對於這個浮華世界，對於芸芸眾生，奇氏是一個觀察者，凝視者，甚至是窺探者，而非參與者。在《十誡》系列的大部分單輯中，總會出現同一個路人，不帶表情地凝視劇中人物。這個人，可以看成是奇氏的化身！當然，在《紅》片中竊聽鄰居電話的退休法官，何嘗沒有奇氏的影子﹖

顧名思義，《十誡》是關於聖經中的十大誡條，而《三色》系列，則取材於法國國旗藍白紅三色所代表的自由、平等、博愛。驟眼看來，奇氏的晚期電影，除《兩生花》外，都與宏大的倫理或哲學理念有關，好像高不可攀的。但是，奇氏所希望表達的，是一個眾人信守的大原則在現實世界的（不可）體現時的種種微妙之處，而非借電影人物演譯抽象概念。可以說，倫理或哲理規條，在奇氏的電影裡，只起一個激發的，啟步的作用。實際上，對於一個不知十誡或藍白紅三色為何物（或是毫不認同）的觀眾，他在欣賞奇氏的電影時，並不會有任何障礙。

奇氏電影中另一個不斷探索的主題，是人生中機緣、巧合的重要性。在奇氏眼中，沒有甚麼是命定的。一個人往後的際遇，都受他先前的抉擇影響。在他的電影《盲目的機遇》（Blind Chance） 中，男主角趕上或趕不上一班火車，就足以令他往後的人生路起了重大變化。這個橋段，後來就在荷里活片《緣份兩面睇》（Sliding Doors）中重用。

一些評論者認為奇斯洛夫斯基鍾愛反復探討命運（fate）。在我們的文化裡，提到命運，常有某種命途前生註定，人力不可左右的概念。但在奇氏眼中，自身的際遇及人與人的關連，既不是無端的偶然，也不是命定的安排，而是其來有自。只是緣起之時，無論是當事人或旁觀者，都不可能知曉其果為何。



奇氏離開人間，究竟現在甚麼地方繼續吞雲吐霧？我們這些凡人當然不可得知。但是，奇氏原來在他生命的末段，曾與他長期合作的編劇Krzysztof Piesiewicz撰寫下一個系列電影《天堂 地獄 煉獄》（Heaven Hell Purgatory）的故事，而且據說在他去世前已大致完成。《天堂》（Heaven）一片，由以拍《冬日戀人》（Winter Sleepers）及《疾走羅拉》（Run Lola Run）揚名的蒂克偉（Tom Tykwer）執導，於2002年推出。至於由塔諾維奇（Danis Tanovic，憑《無人地帶》（No Man's Land）崛起）導演的《地獄》（L' Enfer）則已在2005年末首播。

奇斯洛夫斯基曾於1994年來港為香港國際電影節作嘉賓。當年電影節選了《藍》和《白》作為開幕與閉幕電影。雖然近年電影節沒有關於奇氏的回顧展，不過﹐香港觀眾要欣賞奇斯洛夫斯基的電影，其實並不困難。香港有線電視經常播放奇氏的《三色》系列、《殺誡》及《情誡》，甚至他早期的作品也間中選播，後期作品中唯獨《兩生花》較少播放。當然明珠台及亞視英文台亦偶有選播，但都以《三色》系列為主。

專門選映優質電影，今年正好開業十年的香港百老匯電影中心將於2006年7月13-30日舉行「奇斯洛夫斯基十年祭」。大部分奇氏作品，包括他早年的短片和紀錄片，均在放映之列。開幕電影是千呼萬喚，今年才出DVD的《兩生花》，而閉幕電影，則是塔諾維奇的《地獄》（不知何故，只有地獄，天堂欠奉）。除此以外，「十年祭」還免費放映關於奇氏的記綠片《I'm So So》和展覽Andrzej Pagowski的奇氏電影海報。前者對加深奇氏的認識極有幫助，而Pagowski的海報，風格凌厲獨特，上佳之作。



除香港外，其他城市當然也有類似的紀念活動。然而，在互聯網上，就頗有人去茶涼之感。奇斯洛夫斯基逝世的那一年，也可以說是互聯網漸趨普及的一年。那時，與奇氏相關的網頁如雨後春筍般出現，連我自己也制作了好幾個網頁。





然而，隨著時日流逝，很多奇氏相關網頁現已壽終正寢，其他的也多是奄奄一息，極少更新。唯一例外，是以中文書寫的奇斯洛夫斯基文章及網頁仍在迅速增加，在在顯示奇氏熱潮在中港台（特別是中國大陸）仍方興未艾。這可能是因為奇氏電影與中國觀眾相逢較晚，而且又得益於大陸經濟興旺下「小資文化」的冒起吧。

順帶一提，環顧當今影壇，如果真有所謂奇斯洛夫斯基式電影的承傳者的話，那就非依拿力圖（Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu）莫屬了。繼《狗男女的愛》（Amores Perros）和《21克》（21 Grams）後，他的新作《Babel》剛於2006年康城影展亮相。

奇斯洛夫斯基十年祭

專門選映優質電影的百老匯電影中心於1996年底在香港開業，到今年剛好十個年頭。而今年也是波蘭導演奇斯洛夫斯基(Krzysztof Kieslowski)離世十週年紀念。以「奇斯洛夫斯基十年祭」慶祝百老匯電影中心十歲生辰，恰當之至。

承波蘭駐港領事館的Crystal告知，「奇斯洛夫斯基十年祭」將於7月13-30日舉行。大部分奇氏作品，包括他早年的短片和紀錄片，均在放映之列。開幕電影是姍姍來遲，今年才出DVD的《兩生花(The Double Life of Veronique)》，而閉幕電影，則是奇氏逝世前與老拍檔Krzysztof Piesiewicz合編的「天堂、地獄、煉獄」三部曲中的第二部《地獄(Hell)》（地獄由Danis Tanovic執導。但不知何故，只有地獄，沒有Tom Tykwer的天堂）。

除此以外，「十年祭」還免費放映關於奇氏的記綠片《I'm So So》和展覽Andrzej Pagowski的奇氏電影海報。前者對加深奇氏的認識極有幫助，而Pagowski的海報，風格凌厲獨特，絕對不容錯過。

有此活動，香港觀眾真有眼福，無奈我已不再在香港居住，無緣參與了。

Do you want more? Or less?

On the cover of the Australian release of Kieslowski's The Double Life of Veronique, there is a ratings advice which says "Moderate sex scenes. Infrequent violence."

As many ways to view the film as there are viewers

A review of The Double Life of Veronique by Noel Megahey (DVD Times). The UK release of the DVD is scheduled for 24/4/06.

Attempting to define La Double Vie de Veronique down to any single understandable reading however is not recommended and probably impossible – and you should distrust anyone who attempts to provide a commentary to "explain" this film. This is not a film to be rationalised, but simply felt. Every single scene in Kieslowski's films is designed to provoke a response in the viewer, but that response is not predefined or predetermined. The director knows there are as many ways to view the film as there are people to watch it and La Double Vie de Veronique consequently touches people in an indefinable and deeply personal way.

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To illustrate the point that there are as many ways to view the film as there are viewers, let's look at the use of colour in the film.

Noel Megahey (DVD Times) says it "has a beautifully composed and stylised look, dominated by golden glows and luminous greens in which red is the only colour that stands out. It looks absolutely stunning on this Artificial Eye presentation, the richness of the tones simply radiating off the screen."

Tim Robey (The Telegraph), however, complains that "the showy cinematography bathes everything in the same sickly yellow light. It's really quite tough going."

Gary Tooze (DVDBeaver) is more analytical and states that the image "is decidedly green-ish and I will have to consult some individuals to determine if this was intentional. I don't recall my old VHS looking this way BUT I do recall reading about discussions of this with Kielsowski's cameraman at the time. ... The film was photographed using a golden yellow filter, and the resulting sepia-cum-russet color scheme was apparently further augmented with the deliberate elimination of the color blue from the film's spectrum. True blue appears only a few times in the picture, in each instance reflecting a subjective feeling of love or otherness."

道德兜錯圈

“十誡” 第六誡 – 道德兜錯圈（珍妮）

Double lives, divergent reviews ...

... from two leading British newspapers.

Tim Robey from The Telegraph (17/3/06):

The obsession with doubling is incorrigibly studenty. Jacob is forced to act a concept, rather than a pair of characters. And the showy cinematography bathes everything in the same sickly yellow light. It's really quite tough going.

Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian (17/3/06):

But the elusiveness of the film is precisely the point: it is as beautiful and mysterious as a poem and its formal elegance and conviction are unarguable. What makes it a must-see, however, is the generous, unselfconscious passion of Jacob's performance as a young woman - two young women - in love.

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See also these two articles from kamera.co.uk:

Kieslowski special: The Double Life of Veronique
Kieslowski special: the director today

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Krzysztof Kieslowski's death

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在人間外吞雲吐霧的奇斯洛夫斯基

Reviews of the new Veronique DVD

DVDrama

DVDBeaver.com

家明絮語 試碟報告：《兩生花》

The true colours of Krzysztof Kieslowski

Richard Williams pays tribute to a master of modern European art cinema: True colours (The Guardian, 11/3/06)

When Krzysztof Kieslowski died on March 13, 1996, it was as though a certain kind of cinema had come to an end along with him. The calm, reflective, compassionate gaze he brought to bear on the dilemmas faced by his characters made him the most humanistic of film directors.

This view was echoed by Geoff Andrew, who wrote the Introduction to British Film Institute's "Krzysztof Kieslowski Revisited":

When Krzysztof Kieslowski died, on 13 March 1996, many cinema-goers felt the movies had lost something special, important. It was not just that many admirers of the Polish writer-director felt they'd somehow lost 'a friend', a film-maker who'd been dealing - sensitively, intelligently, sympathetically - with questions or issues rather more relevant and interesting than the shallow spectacle and tired cliches served up by most of his contemporaries. It was also that the death of Kieslowski - himself regarded by some as a successor to Andrei Tarkovsky as the art-house auteur sans pareil - was seen as a loss not only to European cinema but to world cinema.

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在人間外吞雲吐霧的奇斯洛夫斯基

《兩生花》──在美妙的電影中，我們看見靈魂的存在

《兩生花》──在美妙的電影中，我們看見靈魂的存在 （Le-Yi，亞洲時報在線中文版，13/2/06）

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代Le-Yi更正，「1996年4月，基斯洛夫斯基在巴黎病逝，享年55歲」有誤。基斯洛夫斯基實於1996年3日13日在波蘭華沙心臟手術後不治。一個月後將是他的10週年忌辰。

千呼萬喚，《兩生花》的DVD將於2月22日推出（詳見 Double Life, double DVD）。

Retrospective K. Kieslowski, from Mk2 (in French)

In my opinion, this is just a hastily put-together "retrospective" to sell the forthcoming Veronique DVD. Having said that, any new site on the late great Kieslowski is always welcome.

Double Life, double DVD

Fifteen years after its theatrical release, and 10 years after the passing away of the director Krzysztof Kieslowski, The Double Life of Veronique (La Double vie de Veronique) will finally be released in DVD format on 22 February 2006. It will be an MK2 Zone 2 release, in double DVD.

For more details, go to:
- MK2
- DVDrama.

Watch the movie trailer.