The Cinematheque

“A film burning with passionate engagement … And one, moreover, which still has space for tenderness, quiet, and an excursion into the realm of the spirit.”

Chris Peachment, Time Out

Krzysztof Kieślowski’s poignant political ghost story is something of a precursor to Three Colours: Blue, and marks the auspicious first pairing of the director with screenwriting partner Krzysztof Piesiewicz, a trial lawyer who would co-write all of Kieślowski’s subsequent films (including the ten-part Dekalog). A young lawyer, killed in a car crash while in midst of defending a Solidarity activist on trial under martial law, is a ghostly presence watching helplessly as his widow dissolves in grief and his former client is encouraged to compromise his principles in order to avoid jail. The film’s pessimistic take on matters political and spiritual managed to offend the Church, the Communist state, and the Solidarity opposition—as Kieślowski would note, ​“I’ve never had such unpleasantness over any film as I had over this one.” The public, however, loved it. No End was also Kieślowski’s first film with composer Zbigniew Preisner.

In Polish with English subtitles

“Terse, suggestive, and pungent, with juicy performances by Aleksander Bardini and Grażyna Szapołowska.”

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader