A young unemployed man Lazar Jacek with a sad childhood drifts aimlessly about Warsaw. He hires a taxi and murders the cab-driver. He pays for the crime with his life. The atmosphere and mood of this sombre film is established early. Is the strange colouring of the film intentional? The uneven lighting of the screen is unusual, the photographic images almost over-exposed in the centre of the screen while the edges of the screen are dark, shadowy and without much colour. At times the images with a preponderance of yellow suggest pastel drawings. The action is slow and ominous giving a feeling that something is about to happen. This tends to rivet the viewer tense in his seat. What follows is abhorrent to the eye - the cruel bashing of a man to a slow and painful death. Kieslowski likes to give us the detail. He spares nothing. The attempts of the battered victim to attract passers-by is horribly exciting. Jacek's acquisition of the taxi is short-lived. He is soon in jail. The defence lawyer recently graduated and uncertain about his own future makes an unsuccessful attempt to save the young man from the gallows. A lot of this story we have seen before but not with such detailed violence. The final scene when the lawyer visits the condemned man is probably the most moving. The preparation of the noose, the oiling of the device, the placing of the tray below the trap-door hold one rapt in disgust. The message is clear: "Thou shalt not kill!!" But thinking about it we wonder how this young life might have been saved if help had been given in his early years. It seems it all started with his little sister - killed in a tractor accident on the farm when she was only twelve.

The more work I see of Krzysztof Kieslowski, the stronger the feeling that he was an incredibly gifted director, responsible for some brilliant work, taken from us too soon.

Have yet to see anything bad from him, with even my least favourite (the eighth episode of 'Dekalog') still being very good, with the masterful 'Dekalog' and 'Three Colors: Red' (all three "Three Colors" films are must watches, but especially 'Red') being particularly great. Originally the fifth episode of 'Dekalog', and one of its finest episodes, 'A Short Film About Killing' was expanded into a feature length film and the result is something quite brilliant.

As ever, 'A Short Film About Killing' is visually striking, gritty yet beautiful with many thoughtful and emotionally powerful images lingering long into the memory. Kieslowski's direction is quietly unobtrusive, intelligently paced and never too heavy, and the music is suitably intricate.

On top of that, the story is creepy (reminding any Fyodor Dostoyevsky readers of 'Crime and Punishment') with some shocking scenes and a wide range of emotions. It really shows Kieslowski's mastery of narrative construction and also was impressed with how the subject matter was told very matter of factly but still with incredible emotional power.

The themes and ideals are used to full potential, and the characters and their relationships and conflicts feel so real and emotionally resonant without being heavy-handed. The sparse dialogue is bleak, thought-provoking with some real pathos at times, parts that really chill and some subtle black humour. The complexity and nuance of the acting is to be very much admired, with Mirosław Baka's once seen never forgotten performance standing out.

All in all, brilliant. 10/10 Bethany Cox

In Warsaw, the violent sociopath Jacek Lazar (Miroslaw Baka) wanders through the streets committing minor acts of violence. He gets a taxi and kills the driver Waldemar Rekowski (Jan Tesarz) without any reason or motive. Meanwhile, the idealistic Piotr Balicki (Krzysztof Globisz) has just graduated as a lawyer and is assigned to defend Jacek, but loses the case and the youngster is sentence to death.

Capital punishment is a polemic theme, where many people approve or disapprove this sentence. The director Krzysztof Kieslowski uses one of the Ten Commandments, "You Shall not Murder", to defend his position against Death Penalty, no matter whether legally executed by the State in accordance with the laws. The provoking "Krótki Film o Zabijaniu" is a simple and melancholic feature, with depressing colors and no redemption; the performances are top-notch and the murders are extremely violent and dreadful; however Kieslowski manipulates the audiences with the brutal sequence of the execution of Jacek and he is effective in his intent. The story isolates the victim and is focused in the killer, avoiding any sympathy with the wife, relatives and friends of Waldemar. The film never shows the widow of Waldemar and the consequences of his loss to his family. When Piotr is submitted to his final oral test, he says that justice is flawed since Cain but serves as example to avoid similar crimes. In my country there is no Death Penalty, but the present days, where increasing violence is everywhere, with criminals, terrorists and deranged people committing hideous crimes, would the families and friends of the victims agree with this beautiful and poetic position or would prefer the ancient "an eye for an eye"?. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Não Matarás" ("You Shall not Murder")