I don't necessarily agree with Kieslowski (the same way I don't agree with Von Trier in Dancer in the Dark) but this film approaches the subject matter in an amibiguous enough manner to let you ruminate on it a while and draw your own conclusions. The murder scene is one of the most brutal I've ever seen.

This movie is by Kieslowski, my all-time favourite director. The movie is intensely important but I cannot watch it ever again. :'(

Effectively disturbing film-making, but overall lacking in substance. Social commentary spread far too generously over an uncomplicated story.

631

Poignant and troubling, Kieslowski dares us to stay ambivalent -- almost impossible to do, despite what you think you believe about "justice".

Simple, direct, and terrifying. You'll never think of capital punishment teh same way again.

Uninteresting storyline, weird visual choices (odd framing and use of light, although Kieslowski does capture some gorgeous imagery) and deliberate pacing compose one of Kieslowski's weakest and most pretentious features. For the most part, the tedious plot supports a rather ambiguous message. But when the film dissolves into shameless melodrama towards the end, it becomes obvious that the simplistic tale was actually serving a strictly conventional moral.

Finally something that lives up to it's title. No pretentions, no viewer manipulation, no sensationalist imagery. Just a profound message told brutally effectively.

Simple and only moderately effective anti-capital punishment tale. In short, over-praised.

The added material improves upon the episode from the Decalogue, allowing for a greater identification with the lawyer, but more importantly, a rhythm to develop in the pace of the film that makes the conclusion all the more devastating. Love the impacting presence of small children in the film, as well as the ironically sunny concluding shot. And the look of the film is consistently murky or obscured--effective for a film about a subject everyone seems so clear about.

I like the dare shooting of the movie; Kieslowski shadows and breaks the form of the screen constantly. He also puts side by side the unlawful and the official killing. The output is cold and leaves an uneasy feeling.

"Heady stuff, not for the faint-hearted."

Usually I can't stand a film that is so obviously gunning to display a political message. Kieslowski is the exception.