Director: Krzysztof Zanussi
2002
Filip, a medical student, earns extra money on the set of a film about Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, where his girlfriend Hanka works. There he meets an elderly doctor, Tomasz Berg, who is still unaware of his cancer diagnosis. The young man is torn between his studies, his relationship with Hanka, and a religious calling; he seeks answers through conversations with a monk consulting on the film and during a stay at a monastery. He attempts to escape through drugs, which ends in humiliation, and he commits to helping at a homeless shelter. Ultimately, it is the conversations with Dr. Berg about life, death, and everyday matters like housing and cars that enable Filip to make a decision. Krzysztof Zanussi’s film "Supplement" develops the storylines of the young characters alongside the narrative of the dying doctor, complementing "Life as a Sexually Transmitted Disease" (2000).