Kieślowski's 'A Short Film About Love' (1988)

If, like me, you have a complicated relationship with the word ‘love’, I recommend watching Krzysztof Kieslowski’s A Short Film About Love this Valentines (or even outside of that capitalist trap).

Unlike French or Italian cinema, where romantic love is often a primary focus, this 1988 Polish piece captures the lustful and multifaceted connotations of what it means to love within a gritty Communist world. The film follows the peculiar behaviour of 19-year-old Tomek and his obsession with his neighbour Magda, who he watches in the opposite window every night through a telescope. At first, Tomek’s behaviour disturbed me and was half-expecting a masturbation or a murder sequence; neither of which happened. Not for us to see at least. When the 19-year-old and 30-something-year-old interact, we learn that Tomek used to be aroused by her but that was a while ago and no longer the intention of his stalking. Magda approaches him with a disturbed curiosity, entertaining her stalker more than I think I ever could.

A particular scene which stood out to me was when they went to a restaurant, for ice-cream as Tomek intended, but she ordered red wine and asked him to caress her. His trembling hand could barely touch hers and turning to a pair of lovers, she tells him that’s how people do it when they know a little about these things. She invites Tomek back to her apartment, where she lets him touch her again, more intimately, and when he soils himself after merely seconds, Magda says that is all there is to the so-called ‘love’ he feels. But she fails to recognise the power in her own words and it greatly traumatises Tomek, to an extent I heavily advise a content warning for in regards to self-harm and violence.

Yet, she is almost instantly remorseful, ultimately becoming her symbolic nickname ‘Maria Magdalena’ for him. Kieslowski masterfully expresses how love stems from the most unusual places, provokes erratic behaviour and how looking into someone else’s life is more than just for sexual reasons. The final sequence is perhaps the most stunning, when she looks through his telescope at her own room and we re-watch the scene where she cries over literal spilt milk.

Except this time, she is not alone. She envisions Tomek soothing her gently through his lens, learning a lesson herself that love is something unexplainable, uncontrollable, and ultimately, the strangest of feelings.