Talking Heads

In this documentary-cum-survey made in 1979, basic existential questions are asked in the form of a street survey probe. Forty-four selected Poles, representing various professions and ranging in age from seven to a hundred years old, answer three questions: When were you born? Who are you? What do you want (in life)? The result of the survey was a synthesized, though not necessarily representative, picture of the state of consciousness in Polish society less than two years before the events of August 1980 and the birth of the Solidarity trade union. In expressing their thoughts, the people are connected, for instance, by a longing for social change leading to greater justice, freedom, democracy and tolerance, as well as by a moral opposition to the institutions of “backscratching” and “friends in high places.” Kieslowski provides material for reflection on what worries and vexes people in the reality around them and on how human desires change with age and life experience.

Presented on e-flux Video & Film as the October 2022 edition of Staff Picks.

For more information, contact program@e-flux.com.