Made in 1981, the movie Blind Chance was directed and written by Krzysztof Kieslowski; however, the movie was only released to the public in 1987, following intense scrutiny and revision by state censors. The film centers around a young man named Witek, who is profoundly affected by his father’s death and decides to take a leave of absence from medical school to find his true calling. Kieslowski uses a specific scene at the train station three times, each with different results and slight variations. The film is split between these three scenes, and each outcome represents a different path that Witek will lead in life.
In the first outcome, Witek makes the train barely and runs into an older communist on the train who convinces him to join the communist party. Witek successfully joins and breaks up a sit-in at a mental hospital and is rewarded with a trip to France; however, his first love Czuszka is an ardent anti-communist, so she shuns Witek. Witek tries to make up with her; however, his constant contact with an anti-communist leads the party to cancel his trip to France.
In the second outcome, Witek misses the train and is tackled by a police officer. Witek is ordered to do community service and, through this, connects himself with anti-communists and joins the underground resistance lending his flat out for anti-communist meetings. He gets baptized, and the Catholic church is shown as a prominent leader in resistance movements. Witek applies for a passport to go to France he is denied because of his political views and captured by the police. The police over him a passport if he revealed his organization headquarters Witek refuses. However, on his return to the headquarters, he finds it raided and his friends taken away.
In the third scene, Witek misses the train yet is not arrested. He finds love with a woman named Olga and marries her. Witek decides to continue his studies and becomes a doctor. He refuses to join the communist party and also refuses to sign any anti-communist petitions trying to stay out of politics the best he can. He is invited to travel to Lybia to give medical lectures; however, when the plane takes off, it explodes, killing Witek.
The film’s primary theme is centered around the title, as Kieslowski uses this film to show how blind chance can affect a person’s entire trajectory in life. This film, however, can be better understood with historical context, as demonstrated by the six years of repression and censorship before it was released. This movie touches on many prominent issues facing Poland at the time and is not shy about painting the communist party in a bad light. Kieslowski focuses on state repression, religion, and the importance of family. The cracks in the political system of authoritarian communism are clearly shown in this film and accurately depicts the general discontent of the population with the current political system. The one-party state in Poland would collapse two years after the release of this film.