Checking the King

Checking the King

1972 · 36 min · TV Movie, Drama

Two men in a game of chess. One of the players is a country boy who accidentally discovered a chess talent, and the other is a former lawyer who has not played chess for twenty years. The lawyer tells the story of learning to play chess: during World War II, he was arrested for no reason and imprisoned. One day, while waiting for another interrogation, he stole the book "Chess Review" from the investigating officer's coat. He perfected it for several months and started playing against himself. The intense mental effort led him to a nervous breakdown eventually...

Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski · Written by Kamila Klein

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

2h 28m together

Checking the King

Camera Buff

Both from Krzysztof Kieślowski.

More from Krzysztof KieślowskiSee all →

Dekalog

Dekalog · 1989

The Ten Commandments, exact and uncompromising, literally cast in stone, continues to provide a source of moral conflict in contemporary society. In the ten part collection of films, The Decalogue, Krzysztof Kieślowski examines the dilemma of fundamental sin in the lives of ordinary Warsaw citizens.

Decalogue I

Decalogue I · 1989

MovieDramaTV Movie

Krzysztof, a semantics professor and computer hobbyist, is raising his young son, Paweł, to look to science for answers, while Irena, Paweł’s aunt, lives a life rooted in faith. Over the course of one day, both adults are forced to question their belief systems.

Decalogue V

Decalogue V · 1989

MovieDramaTV Movie

Jacek, an angry drifter, murders a taxi driver, brutally and without motive. His case is assigned to Piotr, an idealistic young lawyer who is morally opposed to the death penalty, and their interactions take on an emotional honesty that throws into stark relief for Piotr the injustice of killing of any kind.

Decalogue X

Decalogue X · 1989

MovieDramaTV Movie

Jerzy and Artur’s father dies, leaving behind a valuable stamp collection, which, they discover, is coveted by dealers of varying degrees of shadiness. The more involved the brothers get in their father’s world, the more dire and comical their situation becomes.

Three Colors: Red

Three Colors: Red · 1994

Three Colors: Red

MovieDramaMystery

Part-time model Valentine unexpectedly befriends a retired judge after she runs over his dog. At first, the grumpy man shows no concern about the dog, and Valentine decides to keep it. But the two form a bond when she returns to his house and catches him listening to his neighbors’ phone calls.

A Short Film About Love

A Short Film About Love · 1988

A Short Film About Love

MovieDramaRomance

19-year-old Tomek whiles away his lonely life by spying on his opposite neighbour Magda through binoculars. She's an artist in her mid-thirties, and appears to have everything - not least a constant stream of men at her beck and call. But when the two finally meet, they discover that they have a lot more in common than appeared at first sight...

Decalogue IV

Decalogue IV · 1989

MovieDramaTV Movie

A father and daughter, Michał and Anka, have a unique intimacy, which the college-aged Anka is beginning to feel conflicted about. When she finds an unopened letter from her deceased mother, it seems to justify her attraction to Michał, who may not in fact be her father.

Three Colors: Blue

Three Colors: Blue · 1993

Three Colors: Blue

The wife of a famous composer survives a car accident that kills her husband and daughter. Now alone, she shakes off her old identity and explores her newfound freedom but finds that she is unbreakably bound to other humans, including her husband’s mistress, whose existence she never suspected.

A Short Film About Killing

A Short Film About Killing · 1988

A Short Film About Killing

MovieCrimeDrama

Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.

Camera Buff

Camera Buff · 1979

Filip buys an 8mm movie camera when his first child is born. Because it's the first camera in town, he's named official photographer by the local Party boss. His horizons widen when he is sent to regional film festivals with his first works but his focus on movie making also leads to domestic strife and philosophical dilemmas.

The Double Life of Véronique

The Double Life of Véronique · 1991

The Double Life of Véronique

MovieDramaFantasy

Véronique is a beautiful young French woman who aspires to be a renowned singer; Weronika lives in Poland, has a similar career goal and looks identical to Véronique, though the two are not related. The film follows both women as they contend with the ups and downs of their individual lives, with Véronique embarking on an unusual romance with Alexandre Fabbri, a puppeteer who may be able to help her with her existential issues.

Blind Chance

Blind Chance · 1987

Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.

Three Colors: White

Three Colors: White · 1994

Three Colors: White

MovieComedyDrama

Polish immigrant Karol Karol finds himself out of a marriage, a job and a country when his French wife, Dominique, divorces him after six months due to his impotence. Forced to leave France after losing the business they jointly owned, Karol enlists fellow Polish expatriate Mikołaj to smuggle him back to their homeland.

The Big Animal

The Big Animal · 2000

MovieComedyDrama

When the circus leaves town, Zygmunt and Marysia unwittingly adopt a camel into their home. The couple quickly forms a close bond with the nameless camel, but as the bond grows stronger, their neighbors slowly begin to ostracize them.

Decalogue III

Decalogue III · 1989

MovieDramaTV Movie

It’s Christmas Eve, and Ewa has plotted to pass the hours until morning with her former lover Janusz, a family man, by making him believe her husband has gone missing. During this night of recklessness and lies, the pair grapple with choices made when their affair was discovered three years ago, and with the value of their present lives.

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae · 1975

Curriculum Vitae

A communist party control committee interrogates a worker and party activist who is to be excluded from the party.

More Like This

Couldn't load this row right now.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter