A great story about a taxi driver who is mistakenly arrested as a professional killer. The guy's name is ... Kiler, which is a Polish, phonetic equivalent of English killer. The media, police and the public make the guy famous. And... you need to see it to find out about the ending. It's a good story, with romance, suspense and surprise. Have fun.
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andrew-13315 November 1999
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This is typical Polish humor. The movie is about a man who is accused of murder with no real evidence except for his name, which happens to be Jurek Kiler. He gets himself into a much deeper situation throughout the movie. There are several real funny lines in the movie, but I doubt they are quite as funny when translated into English. Jerzy Stuhr, arguably Poland's greatest actor, plays the lead detective and anything he says is funny. In Polish comedies the humor is not so much in what is said, but how it is said. The humor for the most part comes from the ironic tones and facial expressions of the actors. For those who are not familiar with Polish film history the first, and for a long time only, film making academy was in Poland. Many of the camera crews, set directors, and props directors from Hollywood were actually educated at this Polish institute. I hope you enjoy the film. Cheers.
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Witold23 September 2005I read the earlier comments with interest & I agree with most that has been said. However, let me pick up an earlier comment which deserves an expansion. One of the commenters says he liked everything except the annoying redhead reporter. She is not meant to be liked ! When Siara orders "that TV whore" to be killed, the viewer believes him that he was annoyed enough by her (while human life does not mean much to him). Nasty people usually are not cowards, they expect their bad deeds will catch up with them. When Jurek Kiler announces to Ewa that he has orders from Siara to kill her, she responds bravely "then shoot". She is consistent in her nasty character - which means the actress that plays her is doing a good job. Close to the end of the film Ewa finds out that Jurek is not really a serial killer for hire; her disappointment at that point is great to watch.
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rutek018 May 2003This is really the funniest polish comedy...This is a story about a taxi driver named Jerzy Kiler who's misteakly teaken by the Police and also gangsters as a real assasin also called Kiler(Which means the same as english word Killer).You don't need to be a Pole to understand the jokes because this movie is a parody of action movies and gangster movies.If you don't belive it's good I say that hollywood bought a script of this film.Anyway for me "Kiler" is absolutly 9/10
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nowy_swit24 December 2006Without doubt, when it comes to comedies, "Kiler" is one of the best things that modern Polish cinema has to offer. The story of cab driver mistaken for a professional assassin is really hilarious, from his short stay in prison to the surprising ending - we get tons and tons of laughter. Brilliant characters' creation really contributes to that: you will fall about when fat gangster Siara with his redneck mentality or wannabe-Dirty Harry policeman Ryba appear on screen.
The plot itself is very well-written, containing some unexpected twists; enemies deal with each other rather in entertaining game of wits then with shooting or brute force - if I remember correctly, the single actual death in the movie is a result of funny accident with salt container. You wouldn't expect that from a movie about an assassin, would you? ;) Music is great - it is performed by Polish well-known "poetic rock band", Elektryczne Gitary (The Electric Guitars). Their lyrics comment the action of movie in an ironic, sarcastic way; unfortunately, they would be extremely difficult to understand if you're not a native Pole.
All in all, that movie is a must. Correct me if I'm wrong, but no better Polish comedy was ever produced after "Kiler". -
cjpok28 June 1999This could easily be called the Polish version of "Pulp Fiction" but thank God, it is not. It is captivating from the very get-go, keeping the viewing audience as hostage to the very end. Although unique in style and approach, it is universal and could appeal to any audience, anywhere in the world. Humorous and tastefully prepared.No wonder Hollywood already bought rights to the story. We may see it on this side of the pond. I hope without Bruce Willis or other Hollywood screen "heroes". This story deserves better!
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denis88824 July 2006Now, that's the really funny comedy! What a gang of brilliant Polish stars! All are here - Stuhr, Pazura, Figura, Kondrat! The main hero, Jurek Kiler, a humble taxi driver, gets into a wonderfully twisted plot when he is taken mistakenly for a real killer. And, he takes it quite seriously, and just watch his facial expressions every time he is in some trouble! I especially like the moment when he opens some monument (the Polish president is present - a clever pun on the former leader of the state Mr. Kwasniewski), and then a sniper tries to shoot poor Kiler. As you may guess, nothing comes of it, but what a merry situation! Watch it and have a good time!
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guga-429 January 1999I will recommend to watch this film if it's possible for YOU! The fable is maybe a bit like in all american action films, but in my opinion much much better! The dialogues are funny and sometimes have two meanings, the actors are great; especially Jerzy Stuhr as "Ryba" which means fish, and Cezary Pazura as "Kiler".
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Is is a story of a taxi driver named Jerzy Kiler (Cezary Pazura) who is taken by everyone for a hit-man called the Killer. It's no use for the taxi driver to explain that mistake. Finally, for his own protection, he decides to pretend to be who he was thought to be...
There are many well done jokes in here. The story goes quickly and has its own charm. But there is also a sad reflexion. It is the moment where Polish popular cinema begins to feed on itself. The most characteristic thing about Polish commercial cinema is its resemblance towards the hits signed "made in USA". That pretending looks as false as Jerzy Kiler pretending to be the Killer. Machulski knows about this perfectly and makes fun of it. In one of the funniest scenes Pazura plays in front of the mirror some on-screen characters like "Taxi Driver" or "Leon". -
someonealwayshasmyids7 January 2006I love this movie!
it's a spoof on gangster/action movies and also points out and makes fun of several aspects of polish life (that only Poles will get). It should be watched with a grain of salt.
As for the reporter, i do think she was a tad annoying at times but I don't think her character was supposed to be purposely nasty. In the end she actually fell in love with the guy, and to say that she was disappointed when turned doubt not to be killer is an error and a poor judgment of her character. A truly hilarious film. I love it
I love it -
What can I say, if you live in Poland and you have not watched this movie yet, it is hard for me to call you Polish. The way of telling the story, twists and turns, the level of acting, WOW.
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surfisfun30 January 2022Watched for 20min then FF to the end to see if it would change my mind but no, this one with its dead pan faces humor just dosent do it to me.
I think if you are Polish , this movie may strike a cord but as a non native speaking, It was simply unfunny . Unfunny. -
marek42031 March 2003Minor Spoilers!
While I was in Poland I ran into this gem because it was recommended to me by several different Poles. It definately lived up to the expectation. The actual story of the mistaken assassin is laced with humour that only Polish people will understand. A word of note: I saw the sequel first and it was truly horrible. I wasn't very optomistic when I watched kiler, but it quickly won me over. I don't understand people complaining about Ryba - the police chief. I thought most of his lines were jokes. The only character which should have been cut is that annoying redhead reporter. Maybe Polish guys like women who are that ****ing annoying. -
KFstudios200922 January 2024"Kiler" is so far one of the best Polish comedies I have seen, especially the Ironi and Intelligence put into the dialogues, into the actions the characters did, how much meaning it had, and how funny it was made. The main character called Kiler (Plot twist: He is not the actual killer, but that's not a spoiler, everyone knows it from the description) performed by Cezary Pazura is very good for the role, and he adapted his personality greatly, his humor and charm was nice and they showed a great connection between he and his allies. The action goes slow, yet effective. The humor and the fun acting made it a good float and most of the scenes felt complete, not everything was perfect but hey! Not everything is perfect. The opening scene was a good beginning to the story, and it gives us small hints on what is going to happen. It focuses most of the time on the killer, of course, and maybe they could have a side story? No, I don't think so. They filed it out so well that I don't think more plot was required. The cool plot twist at the end made a very great grand finale and I could safely say that this was a complete film. I liked the small references they had from different movies, I noticed especially Leon from "Leon the Professional" and other small tastes that I really enjoyed. I enjoyed the characters here, too, besides our main hero Kiler, there were so many other cool characters to explore. I really liked how it showed Kiler with many enemies (And Allies) and how funny and exaggerated they were. Police Officer Ryba (Ryba can also mean fish in Polish) was a good and convincing role played by Jerzy Stuhr, that I think personally is a fantastic actor with engagement. The practical effects were rather simple and I would even say amateur, but for the comedy genre, I don't think it is such a big problem. The soundtrack had many good songs (Made for the film) that really fitted the action and gave a good contrast, I enjoyed the instrumental themes, too, it wasn't complicated music but had a good beat to the action. The script was written well (As I mentioned the funny and ironic lines that was some very good original stuff) and the runtime was just perfect, I didn't felt any bored and was really on for the whole time. So yeah, you should definitely watch this movie, if you can't polish, you have to find it with subs, maybe not that easy today. But anyways, recommending!
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THE-BEACON-OF-MOVIES-RAFA17 October 2023The movie that kills... with laughter.
Undoubtedly, if you are looking to see something different but without taking risks, Kiler is one of the most interesting works I have seen offered by modern Polish cinema in its genre. It will be full of the typical 90s humor that will delight those who see it without expecting to aspire to something remarkable but without many complications. The plot itself is very well written and contains some unexpected twists; the enemies are engaged in an entertaining game of wits rather than gunfire or brute force, the plot moves quickly and has its charm
have a peaceful watch. -
JurijFedorov18 July 2022It's apparently one of the most popular Polish movies. Many recommend this as the movie to watch if you want to check out Polish cinema. Yet it's painfully mediocre in every way. Just weird. I watched it for a free on a site set up by the Polish state.
This is from 1997 Poland where the country just looked plain and boring. There is nothing special about the locations. It looks like an early 1990's Western country. Cars are ugly, apartments boring with weird furniture, clothes are cheap and ugly, haircuts are weird, everything just looks cheap and drab. That's just how Poland looked back then I figure. The movie would have been endlessly better if it was made in 1960's Poland for example. At least then the quirky unfunny comedy would be set in an interesting universe.
The film is basically a cheap imitation of various Hollywood movies. It's about Kiler, a guy randomly arrested and thought to be a bigshot hitman who the cops can never catch. Why they think he's the killer is never quite clear. At the start we see some guy hold up a rifle for 2 seconds. Next scene shows SWAT run into Kiler's apartment and arrest him. Later via the dialogue I figured out a cop was holding up the rifle that he had taken from Kiler's taxi. Aha, the movie is just so badly made that I miss even what the scenes imply. It's lazily edited and there are lot of these random mini scenes just appearing out of nowhere for some reason. We don't find out what the rifle was doing there. Kiler never asks the question for some reason. Overall the movie never takes itself seriously. No one seems to care about these important things. The movie is just old jokes from other movies you have seen many times over. Kiler even repeats lines from American movies illustrating how much the writers were inspired by American comedies from the 1980's. Besides this we know nothing about him. He's just this random taxi driver. They never try to set up his character. He lives alone and has no friends or family it seems. He's just a taxi driver. This is such a huge story error that it shouldn't even happen in a cheap B movie from Poland. It's just basic script writing. Not a single competent script writer working in the industry would make such a blatant error today. Of course the whole story overall is just a cheap imitation full of these sort of logical holes.
Kiler seemingly wants in on some money transfer. It's never explained what the plan is or who wants what exactly. He wants some cash coming into Poland. But he never makes a plan to get it. On the other hand he just talks to other people and they tell him how to get the money. He never tricks them into telling him stuff. They just choose to trust him to get their money for them this random hitman they have never met before. At the end he gets the money and the girl and we never understand how. He's just this silly loser. Why is he suddenly super smart? And what did he do? He takes a metal box to a scrap yard and the real Kiler randomly finds him and is about to kill him, but is then arrested. We find out that the metal box that was supposed to contain half a ton of dollars is empty. So what happened? What was his plan? Did he know the real Kiler would be waiting for him? Surely not as this is never mentioned in any way. So why is the box empty? He then gets the real box with money and we are supposed to think he's smart or something. Before that there was a shootout with bad guys where they either used fake guns or miss all shots. It's never explained, but they all play dead for some reason. The gag with someone playing dead is actually done once every 20 minutes it seems.
Also, when he gets the girl they just hint at stuff between them. Hint at kisses and sex. They never even kiss. I think they are supposed to be a couple, but how can I know? He's just this stumbling fool that hits on a hot journalist and she never says no as such as she wants the story. At one point he is about to kiss her as the doorbell rings. Later he asks to sleep in a bed with her. But what happened we don't know. She never says yes or no. When he tried to kiss her we don't see her face. So is she into him? And if so why? He's just a person without any hobbies or personality. A bumbling fool of sorts. If we for example knew that she wanted a story from him that would be some clear motivation.
There is nothing here. The movie could have depicted Polish police work, a Polish prison, Polish gangs, Polish culture. Frankly, the most Polish thing here are 2 Polish women you can admire. Besides this it could have been set anywhere. It's just a bunch of cheap gags you have seen in American teen comedies from the 1980's. So it's competing vs. Better and bigger movies and it being Polish doesn't change anything. I smiled maybe 3 times. But besides this nothing. It's just not funny. And the silliness actually detracts from the story. I watch a ton of movies. When I don't fully get a plot it's not my brain not functioning. Some of the events are just pure nonsense you can't explain. The overall plan of stealing the money may make sense somehow. We just never get it explained. The acting is also mediocre at best. And some of the "clever" tricks Kiler uses to trick people are also unrealistic as heck and wouldn't fool anyone in real life. I really don't get why anyone would like this movie. The concept with a loser being confused for the real killer and given jobs is done every single year with big actors. It never works, but it's done way better in most other such movies as they have actual budgets. This movie is just filmed in random locations in Poland and looks cheap. Spy (2015) is a great example of how you do it right. That's with a loser doing spy work though. But even just the airplane fight scene alone in Spy is more creative and interesting than this full movie. And that scene alone for sure cost more than this full movie too. -
kazek11 February 1999I find it amazing, that so many people (probably Poles) have voted for this movie, giving it such grades (mostly tens). OK, the movie was fine, funny, but it was nothing special on the other hand. The only good thing about Kiler is the dialogues, rather not comprehensive for non-Poles. Screenplay is primitive, the acting (except for Jerzy Stuhr as Ryba) - awful. It's too much ado about nothing - fortunately it's not included in the top 250. P.S. The sequel "Kilerow 2-och" ("2 Kilers") is on the way and it's just the same story.