Sometimes love is best experienced from afar. This is especially true if you happen to be a stalker or peeping Tom, as is the case with Tomek, the hapless protagonist in Krzysztof Kielowski's A Short Film About Love. Smitten with the older woman Magda (Grazyna Szapolowska) who lives across the street, Tomek (Olaf Lubaszenko) soon whips out his telescope and begins to obsessively watch her every move, from mundane house chores to entertaining guests. As if to demonstrate his sexual naivety, whenever she is with other men his lens trains itself away from her window, his guilt overcoming his willingness to continue his voyeuristic tendencies. Eventually he contrives a scenario whereby he can meet her, confessing that he's been watching her from afar. But Magda's cynicism is a far more powerful force than Tomek's idealistic love, and the realization that they cannot be together proves too much for him to bear. Despite this depressing-sounding scenario, A Short Film About Love isn't quite as ironically titled as you might think, with Kielowski showing a sensitivity which underscores his reputation as one of the greatest directors of all time, transforming Tomek from a potential figure of disgust to one of sympathy. With the first five films out of the way, things are about to take an even darker turn ...
