Der Zufall möglicherweise (Przypadek)

Witek Długosz runs after a train. What happens next depends on the most mundane of actions and chance and, as we know, chance leads life down very different paths. At that moment, Witek’s life branches off into three possible directions. In one, he becomes part of the system; in another, he fights against it; in the third, he withdraws from it entirely. What determines which path he takes? A second, a glance, a coincidence. Krzysztof Kieślowski does not turn this into a game, but rather a fascinating intellectual construct about freedom, fate, and responsibility. Against the backdrop of communist Poland, a film unfolds that is political without needing slogans, and existential without ever seeming heavy-handed. Every variant of Witek’s life feels genuine and quietly poses the question of which one we ourselves are living and actually want to live. Visually precise, emotionally restrained, and yet powerfully impactful, this work is regarded as one of the most original in European cinema; it is no coincidence that the concept has often been copied. Censored for decades, yet all the more relevant today: a film about possibilities and about how little it takes for everything to turn out differently.