Blind Chance

"Every generation needs to know or believe that the world can be a better place,” claims a character in Krzysztof Kieslowski’s examination of will, destiny, and chance, a fascinating precursor to the concerns of his Three Colors trilogy and a biting condemnation of the complex choices (or lack thereof) of individuals in a totalitarian regime. Made during the beginning of the Solidarity period in Poland but banned after the declaration of martial law, Blind Chance is a trilogy-in-one, following three possible life paths of its main character. In one, he becomes a Party member, but his youthful idealism is quickly co-opted by the state. In the second, he instead joins a dissident movement, and in the third he decides “not to be involved in either.” Highlighting the interconnected nature of fate, secondary characters from one segment turn up in another, while the ending unites them in a final tragedy.