Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease

Krzysztof Zanussi's 2000 film follows an atheist doctor diagnosed with cancer. Tomasz has spent years delivering news of death to patients and now receives the same information about himself. His former wife offers money for treatment in Paris, but the illness is past the operable stage. The film opens a philosophical argument about death, conducted not in a classroom but in daily life. Tomasz talks with a young seminarian, visits former patients and tests his own unbelief. Zanussi gives neither side an open advantage. Zbigniew Zapasiewicz's performance is at the centre, playing not acceptance of death but the process of learning to look at it. The visual language is plain and cold. It is a late example of Zanussi's long interest in the tension between science and faith. Who it's for: those who like Eastern European cinema built around philosophical questions. Who it's not for: viewers who do not want to approach death and illness; the film works on both without softening.