Pick this flick 3- Camera buff(amator)

'Camera buff' is a polish film directed by renowned auteur Krzysztof Kieslowski. I guess this film will be of immense interest to all shutterbugs out here. The film chronicles the changes that occur in the life of Filip Mosz(Jerzy Stuhr) after he buys an 8mm camera. His only intention while buying the camera was to film his new born baby. He finds immense pleasure in capturing every movement of her's.

The story changes when the communist party leader of that area asks him to film a conference of the party. He lets his creativity run wild as he converts the meeting into a complete film. The way he films a pigeon in between the meeting is fabulous. He also films secret negotiations that happens behind the scenes of the conference. The leader is not happy with these unwanted additions and asks him to remove it. Filip submits the film at a film festival and wins accolades there. A film critic Anna Wlodarcz takes interest in him and promotes him a lot. At the same time, his daughter and wife takes a back seat and this severely affects his family life.

The film has many poignant moments. He films a day in the life of a dwarf factory worker. His uneventful life suddenly seems colourful when seen through the film. There's another scene where he films his friend riding a vehicle for the 1st time and his happy mother looking from a window. Later, after his mother dies, his friend sees the film and gets emotional. In the final scene, he turns on the camera on himself. This climax is also a powerful commentary on people who get obsessed with what they do and forgets themselves as well as their family.

The film discusses about so many things in so little time. Right from freedom of expression to nuances of film making to family problems, Kieslowski does it all here in one film.

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