I watched this film some years ago and it has stayed with me ever since such was the scope of the sheer level of injustice suffered by Stefan Kiszko. I think it is the worst type of human being that takes advantage of someone not properly able to fight their corner. A young child against an adult, a woman against a violent man or a shy or mentally challenged man against a strong and manipulative and devious fellow adult. This was Stefan's fate. So I presume you know the story, a man accused of murdering a young girl, he did not do it but for the police his face fitted. I suppose that a miscarriage of justice can be forgiven if there are unfortunate circumstances, being at the wrong place at the wrong time or bearing an uncanny likeness to the real perpetrator. But in Stefan Kiszko's case he was the subject of prejudice. If he had been a tall dark handsome man then three girls would not be accusing him of exposing himself to them. Or the police would not have considered him a suspect in the first place and then even if they had they would have released him when clear evidence showed that he was not the murderer. But Stefan was not tall dark and handsome, he was tall and fat and a bit of a bumble, seen as a man who could not get a girl down to charm and good looks and therefore resorting to kidnap and murder to satisfy his sexual urges. This film touched me deeply because in the wrong situation Stefan could be any one of us. An earlier comment suggests that this film could have been more hard hitting. I disagree this film told the story well and putting more emphasis on the treatment of Stefan may have allowed us to forget that a young girl was killed in a most brutal way. Anybody following the news will now know that the real killer has been brought to justice so I would suggest that now is a good time to remind the public of Stefan Kiszko with a postscript at the end of the programme letting the watcher know that the real killer is now behind bars.
8 Reviews
An important film as this case needs to given a high profile
nospamorgarbage7 October 2008
But... Please can we be careful how we describe Stefan Kiszko? I never met him, but I saw him on TV in an interview. He suffered from hypogonadism which gave him a certain physical appearance, including being very overweight. He was socially very awkward and later became mentally ill, hardly surprisingly.
Several people here have described him as 'retarded'. I'm not quite sure what they mean by this, but presumably they are implying low intelligence? As far as I am aware he was actually a well educated and intelligent man. He worked as an income tax clerk, drove his own car to work and spoke several foreign languages. He may not have been a genius, but I strongly believe it would be an injustice to label him as 'retarded' on the basis of his clumsy appearance or awkward manner.
I think possibly what this film demonstrates is how easily people are slotted into pigeonholes. One of the reasons why Stefan Kiszko was convicted was because the police were so keen to see an awkward, fat, socially incompetent man as fitting the 'profile' (their stereotype) of a child molester.
Several people here have described him as 'retarded'. I'm not quite sure what they mean by this, but presumably they are implying low intelligence? As far as I am aware he was actually a well educated and intelligent man. He worked as an income tax clerk, drove his own car to work and spoke several foreign languages. He may not have been a genius, but I strongly believe it would be an injustice to label him as 'retarded' on the basis of his clumsy appearance or awkward manner.
I think possibly what this film demonstrates is how easily people are slotted into pigeonholes. One of the reasons why Stefan Kiszko was convicted was because the police were so keen to see an awkward, fat, socially incompetent man as fitting the 'profile' (their stereotype) of a child molester.
Beautifully Made but very Depressing True Life Story
BJJManchester12 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers
A LIFE FOR A LIFE tells the tragic real life story of Stefan Kiszko,a socially maladroit but quiet and innocuous gentle giant who was wrongly sent to prison for an horrific child murder in the North of England in 1975.After years of campaigning led by his indomitable mother,Charlotte,he is eventually released after 16 years,but the ordeal of prison life took it's toll and he died of a heart attack barely 18 months after his release,with his beloved mother joining her son in passing several months later.
This case became arguably the most notorious miscarriage of justice in British criminal history,and on November 12 2007,Ronald Castree was sentenced to life for the murder of 11-year- old Lesley Molseed after DNA evidence taken from the crime scene proved he was the real killer.
As a TV film,there is very little to criticise A LIFE FOR A LIFE.It is very persuasively written and directed,with outstanding lead performances from Tony Maudsley as Stefan and Olympia Dukakis as Charlotte.The only real problem is not with it's all round technical excellence,but with the story itself.The events depicted (all entirely truthful and not remotely fictional) are so relentlessly upsetting,depressing and tragic that even at an apparent happy ending,when Stefan is released,there is still that heart-breaking final twist with him and his mother's deaths following not too long afterwards.The film particularly goes into glumness overdrive when we witness Stefan's appalling experiences behind bars,which were so shattering that it broke him mentally and turned him schizophrenic.Maudsley's performance could have quite easily degenerated into hysteria and forced sympathy,but it is to his immense credit that he is nothing less than brilliant in the lead role,giving the exact amount of dramaturgy and under-playing required for such a difficult role.It is a scandal that he did not win any award for this tour-de-force.American Ms Dukakis is also moving as the elderly East-European immigrant determined to find justice for her son,a mere victim of the most unfavourable circumstances imaginable.
It can hardly be classed as an entertainment,but A LIFE FOR A LIFE is an overtly harrowing but totally compelling adaptation of this most grievously sad of real life stories;and if anybody doesn't shed a tear at the final scene,you are truly not human.
RATING:8 out of 10.
This case became arguably the most notorious miscarriage of justice in British criminal history,and on November 12 2007,Ronald Castree was sentenced to life for the murder of 11-year- old Lesley Molseed after DNA evidence taken from the crime scene proved he was the real killer.
As a TV film,there is very little to criticise A LIFE FOR A LIFE.It is very persuasively written and directed,with outstanding lead performances from Tony Maudsley as Stefan and Olympia Dukakis as Charlotte.The only real problem is not with it's all round technical excellence,but with the story itself.The events depicted (all entirely truthful and not remotely fictional) are so relentlessly upsetting,depressing and tragic that even at an apparent happy ending,when Stefan is released,there is still that heart-breaking final twist with him and his mother's deaths following not too long afterwards.The film particularly goes into glumness overdrive when we witness Stefan's appalling experiences behind bars,which were so shattering that it broke him mentally and turned him schizophrenic.Maudsley's performance could have quite easily degenerated into hysteria and forced sympathy,but it is to his immense credit that he is nothing less than brilliant in the lead role,giving the exact amount of dramaturgy and under-playing required for such a difficult role.It is a scandal that he did not win any award for this tour-de-force.American Ms Dukakis is also moving as the elderly East-European immigrant determined to find justice for her son,a mere victim of the most unfavourable circumstances imaginable.
It can hardly be classed as an entertainment,but A LIFE FOR A LIFE is an overtly harrowing but totally compelling adaptation of this most grievously sad of real life stories;and if anybody doesn't shed a tear at the final scene,you are truly not human.
RATING:8 out of 10.
Simply powerful
haggar10 December 2001
This movie will probably make you cry, because it speaks with the power of reality, and the acting was top notch for all roles, main and secondary alike. In comparison, "Killing fields" lost a lot because of a few lousy actors.
Back to "Life for a life" (AKA "The story of Stefan Kiszko"), this is a moving movie, not quite sophisticated as, for example, "Requiem for a dream", but all the more direct. As I said in the title of this review, it's -simply- powerful.
How powerful was the movie, to me? Suffice it to say that I have been waking up in the morning, for a few days after watching the movie, thinking about Stefan and his mother, feeling deeply sad for them and saying a prayer, with my faith in God getting a whole new meaning. Yes, it was that deep. Without faith, I thought, the pain described in the movie could be utterly unbearable, even for just the honest audience of this movie. Because, I think, this is what this movie needs; an honest, emotionally participating and empathic audience above all, that will somehow try to make the wrongs of this world a little bit better.
Back to "Life for a life" (AKA "The story of Stefan Kiszko"), this is a moving movie, not quite sophisticated as, for example, "Requiem for a dream", but all the more direct. As I said in the title of this review, it's -simply- powerful.
How powerful was the movie, to me? Suffice it to say that I have been waking up in the morning, for a few days after watching the movie, thinking about Stefan and his mother, feeling deeply sad for them and saying a prayer, with my faith in God getting a whole new meaning. Yes, it was that deep. Without faith, I thought, the pain described in the movie could be utterly unbearable, even for just the honest audience of this movie. Because, I think, this is what this movie needs; an honest, emotionally participating and empathic audience above all, that will somehow try to make the wrongs of this world a little bit better.
Gut wrenching true story that left me in a somewhat depressed state
w_eagleson1 February 2000
Another true-life drama extremely well acted. Unfortunately these little gems lay buried beneath the mass of B grade movies dished up on cable. (I saw this on cable) A stirring true story depicting another example of a terrible injustice and the ramifications for all involved. A similar British-made movie, Let Him Have It, is another example of someone who is dealt a raw deal by the justice system.. A Life for a Life, I believe, is the first movie for Tony Maudsley, who plays the leading role of a mentally retarded man wrongfully accused of the murder of a ten year old girl and spent 16 years in prison. Olympia Dukakis plays his mother in what is another superb performance from this fine actress. All in all, a gut wrenching journey into the lives of those who draw the short straw of life.
English drama at its gritty best.
Mike-90815 January 2000
A true story of a terrible miscarriage of justice
ha-rob23 December 2007
Warning: Spoilers
11 year old Lesley Molseed was found murdered on the moors of northern England in October 1975 two months later a local man Stefan Kiszko was charged with her murder and in 1976 was convicted of her murder but Kiszko was innocent.This is the story of one of the most terrible miscarriages of justice in British legal history. The film shows us that Kiszko is a harmless mummy's boy who works as tax clerk during the week and spends his weekends with his mother,the police come to his house to question him regarding an incident involving indecent exposure,his mother tells the police that he was in hospital having an operation on his foot at the time,when the police find out that the operation took place months before they take him in for questioning this time for the murder,over the next couple of days Kiszko is brow beaten and coerced into confessing to a crime that not only did he not commit but due to a medical condition he could not commit before being allowed access to a solicitor,at his trial his defence led by future home secretary David Waddington seem to assume his guilt from the start and try to persuade Kiszko to let them plead diminished responsibility on his behalf and partly due to this disastrous decision his fate for the next 16 years is sealed,the film then concentrates on his mother Charlotte's determination despite age and ill health to clear her son's name despite hitting a brick wall every time the film also shows the horror that Kiszko suffers serving a life sentence,being labelled a child killer,being beaten up by other inmates and finally suffering a mental breakdown,Charlotte finally finds a solicitor who will take up the case and after much hard work and investigation gets the case heard at the court of appeal and the conviction is quashed,but there is no happy ending as Kiszko and his mother are both broken and scarred and within 2+1/2 years both are dead The film is very well made with special mention to Tony Maudsley who is totally convincing as Stefan Kiszko as is Olympia Dukakis as his mother Charlotte. In November 2007 the real murderer was finally convicted of this terrible crime after getting away with it for 32 years
How many others languish in jail through sloppy prosecution
emuir-118 February 2016
Sadly, this case is not uncommon due to the mindset of the police who have a profile of the guilty, are determined to fit the facts to their profile and disregard what doesn't fit. The prosecutors who withhold evidence from the defence and ignore evidence which would clear the suspect. Witnesses who could clear the suspect and are not called to give evidence, possibly because the prosecution withheld that evidence from the deference or they did not come forward until too late. "Witnesses' like the young girls who made false allegations for fun, then never admitted their had lied, and not forgetting the public perception that a suspect must be guilty as he has been arrested. Add all this to the suspect not being 'good looking' and you have the perfect storm.
We only know of this miscarriage of justice because the case was reopened and Stephan Kiscko was cleared, and would never have been convicted if the investigation had not ignored evidence which did not fit. To his credit, the mentally battered Stephan steadfastly refused to admit his guilt, after the first coerced confession made without a legal representative. He was promised parole if he confessed and told that he would spend the rest of his life in jail if he did not confess. He was offered mental health treatment as a reward for admitting he was a sexual predator, but he refused to admit to what he had not done.
Were the girls who lied ever charged with perjury? Were the police and prosecutors who railroaded Stephan ever reprimanded? the pressure to obtain a confession after he was jailed was an attempt to get the police off the hook and protect them from being investigated. A very frightening tale of injustice. How many other innocent men and woman languish in jail through sloppy prosecution?
We only know of this miscarriage of justice because the case was reopened and Stephan Kiscko was cleared, and would never have been convicted if the investigation had not ignored evidence which did not fit. To his credit, the mentally battered Stephan steadfastly refused to admit his guilt, after the first coerced confession made without a legal representative. He was promised parole if he confessed and told that he would spend the rest of his life in jail if he did not confess. He was offered mental health treatment as a reward for admitting he was a sexual predator, but he refused to admit to what he had not done.
Were the girls who lied ever charged with perjury? Were the police and prosecutors who railroaded Stephan ever reprimanded? the pressure to obtain a confession after he was jailed was an attempt to get the police off the hook and protect them from being investigated. A very frightening tale of injustice. How many other innocent men and woman languish in jail through sloppy prosecution?
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