Overview
A stark examination of morality and justice unfolds in this gripping narrative.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- bleak
- austere
- disturbing
- serious film study
- political cinema viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Kieślowski's uncompromising, formally controlled drama as a powerful and politically consequential condemnation of capital punishment.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The plot explicitly places a senseless murder beside a calculated judicial execution, forming the film's central political and ethical argument.
Both killings are shown in graphic detail through a cold, grim visual treatment that denies cathartic distance.
Piotr Balicki's idealistic defense of Jacek becomes entangled in the judicial execution of his client.
The murder and execution are consecutive, structurally linked events whose similarities and differences drive the film's critique.
Films like A Short Film About Killing, and why
The Verdict
Shared austere social realism, moral ambiguity, institutional violence, and profound ethical seriousness.
The Lives of Others
Shared bleak crime drama, procedural attention to punishment, and critique of impersonal institutions.
Dead Man Walking
Shared capital punishment subject, restrained filmmaking, and sustained attention to moral responsibility.
Dekalog: Five
Shared Polish art-cinema context, existential moral inquiry, and visually controlled psychological drama.
Movie Details
- Director
- Krzysztof Kieślowski
- Release Date
- 1988-03-11
- Runtime
- 85 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (417)
Cast
- Mirosław Baka
- Krzysztof Globisz
- Jan Tesarz
- Zbigniew Zapasiewicz
- Barbara Dziekan
- Aleksander Bednarz
- Jerzy Zass
- Zdzisław Tobiasz
- Artur Barciś
- Krystyna Janda
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is A Short Film About Killing about?
- A stark Polish crime drama places an apparently senseless murder beside a meticulously administered execution to indict capital punishment and institutional violence.
- What is A Short Film About Killing like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Short Film About Killing as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is A Short Film About Killing violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in A Short Film About Killing as graphic.
- What did critics think of A Short Film About Killing?
- Critics broadly regard Kieślowski's uncompromising, formally controlled drama as a powerful and politically consequential condemnation of capital punishment.
- Which films are like A Short Film About Killing?
- Films with a similar feel include The Verdict, The Lives of Others, Dead Man Walking, and Dekalog: Five.
- How long is A Short Film About Killing?
- A Short Film About Killing runs 85 minutes.
- Where can I watch A Short Film About Killing?
- In United States, A Short Film About Killing streams on Criterion Channel.
