In the Kieslowski moral universe, influence is often transferred indirectly, not as an intentional act. When we act upon influence, we aren’t even aware that we are doing so much of the time. This plays with questions of motives. How can we assign a motive and judge it right or wrong when so much of what we do is unconscious?

Valentine is back in a ballet class and I must note that she appears to be in agony every time we see her going through her ballet moves. This must be, at this point, just athletic training for her because there’s no way someone experiencing this much pain, and unable to control her expressions, could actually perform ballet.

As she is leaning back in a maneuver, Valentine notices a newspaper and asks, to no one in particular, whose newspaper is that? She’s informed that it is hers. She picks up the paper and sees a story about a retired judge in an invasion of privacy case in Pinchat. Glimpsing at this newspaper story, the word misanthrope jumps out — the rest of the film will test this description of the Judge. (Or perhaps from now on we should call him Joseph.)

Valentine seems to smile at the story at first, but then a look of horror comes over her. She seems to have been struck by the fear that the judge will conclude that she turned him in. And so, we see her back at the judge’s house right away. Clearly distressed, she tells him that she saw the newspaper, but did not tell a soul about what she saw and heard, not the police or anyone. He tells her that he knows this is true, and as she’s about to walk off, he tells her that he knows who turned him in … he did.

He invites her in and tells her there’s something he wants to show her. On her way in, Valentine closes the door and we get this lovely shot of the sun setting on the Swiss mountains. Then we see Rita surrounded by seven puppies. Joseph takes out some pear brandy to toast the occasion — he says he’s had it for ages, but never had a reason to take it out.

They toast to his health. Valentine asks why he turned himself in. He says he did it to see what Valentine would do when she saw it in the paper. She asks if he thought she would come by, he said he thought she would. Then we get one of the most puzzling moments in the film. Joseph puts his arms out wide before Valentine. She takes a half step backwards. He does not move forward. She asks “do you expect something from me?” He answers yes … but then changes the subject. The physical nature of that shot is unmistakable and perhaps a very brief nod from Kieslowski that Joseph desires Valentine sexually, but he swerves from the subject immediately.

Joseph then says that before leaving the other day, Valentine spoke of pity. But the Judge says that he realized later she meant disgust. Valentine nods. The judge still has his arms wide open as this conversation unfolds. But now the conversation cuts to him at his desk sitting down while Valentine is standing. He asks her to sit for a moment. He asks her to smile, which recalls her modeling scene. She pauses for a moment and gives a very shy smile with her eyes pointed to the floor.

He says that she cried when she left the other day. She agrees.Then he recounts that he turned off his radio and sat down at his desk to write the letters. As he says this the camera rapidly pulls back from the pair and moves into a strange rec room that we have not seen yet. There is a billiards table with lots of junk piled on to, including a couple of large glass canisters, reminding us of the smashed beer glass at the bowling alley that was unexplained. He says that his fountain pen — one he has used all of his life — was out of ink so he had to use a pencil for his letters. He wrote them to both neighbors and the police. He said he mailed them right away, while she was asleep.

Valentine tells him she wasn’t asleep, that she was out bowling. Joseph reminded her that the couple they were listening to on the phone went bowling as well, maybe they were on an adjacent lane. Valentine reminds him that he didn’t like her. The judge responds that their relationship is almost over. Valentine says he seems pleased, then rises and asks if he was responsible for that.

He tells her that because of his eavesdropping and trial, she met another man. We cut now to that man — the one we called the man in the red Jeep who we can now call the young judge — as he’s making a phone call and no one picks up. He then puts on his judicial robe and walks into a small courtroom.

This dense, important conversation between Valentine and Joseph continues, but this is a good place to cut. The next segment includes some of Kieslowski’s clearest statements about the nature of justice and fate.