El decálogo

`Dekalog' **** There are some `movies' that are hard to describe. `Dekalog' is one. It's not really a movie. It is a ten part made-for-TV mini series. Don't remember seeing `Dekalog' when it was first shown on TV? Neither do I. `Dekalog' was made for made for Polish TV in 1987 by Krzysztof Kieslowski (`Blue', `White', `Red' and `Double Life Veronique'). Each segment of `Dekalog' is about one hour and is thematically driven by one of the 10 Commandments. All the stories take place in the same high rise apartment in Warsaw. The characters in each of the stories don't necessarily overlap, yet we see some of the characters from one story walk through another. This lack of overlap is also true of the stories and the commandments. Even knowing which commandment was the basis for a story, I couldn't always see a direct correlation. It's as if Kieslowski and his co-writer Krzysztof Piesiewicz view the 10 Commandments as a ruler to measure one's actions, a curb to provide bounds for one's choices or maybe a mirror to reflect on one's life. This reflective view of the commandments comes through in each of the stories. In "I Am the Lord Our God" a young boy and his father rely on a computer to decide whether or not it's safe to go out on the ice. "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery" is about a young boy who spies on and stalks the woman next door. Magda, his neighbor, is free and easy. And when she finds out about the young voyeur, she sets out prove there is no such things as love. Commandment by commandment Kieslowski provides us our own voyeuristic moment into the lives of the people in this one Warsaw apartment. This is truly a great movie. Buy a copy and watch the stories with another movie fan. Dekalog contains 10 stories that you'll want to talk about long after you've watched them.

Written in little over a year and a half and done with a budget that any Hollywood production would consider ridiculous, Krysztof Kieslowski and Krysztof Piesiewicz created some of the most thought provoking and emotional films of all time with this miniseries. What was even more dramatic is that these pieces were unavailable on video for almost 15 years due to its distributor. Based on an original idea of Piesiewicz, Kieslowski's long time collaborator, the series was to be given to different directors each time. But Kieslowski fell in love with the project and ended up filming all of them. What makes these pieces unique is their rhythm, their unique images and their amazing scripts. Very little dialogue is used all along. Instead, Kieslowski gives you a full knowledge of his characters by little incidents in their lives, which end up having more resonance. Each one of the stories are linked by location, all occuring to different occupants of an apartment complex over the course of what's very likely one year. Each piece is an entity by itself and can be watched separately, although some of the characters do reappear in different episodes in bit parts. Most significant is that one who has been called "the angel", a mysterious figure whose gaze serves as a warning sign to the main characters. Since the films are loosely based on the ten commandments (and the different ways we break them every single day), the mood is one of anguish and solitude. And Warsaw and that inhumane apartment complex are a perfect setting for these desolate stories. Still, there's no need to be a Christian or even a religious person to enjoy these films. Most films deal with human issues and tough moral choices. Although the stories have received a subtitle to associate each of them with a commandment, these were not present in the original vision of the director and were added later by the Venice Film Festival's press office. Also, if you've seen two of the films in their longer versions: "A short film about Killing" and "A short film about Love", you should also watch them again here in their original versions, since they provide a small glimpse at the genius of Kieslowski who changes and adds small scenes that make the movies (specially "a short film about love") different experiences and almost vignettes of a people's lives.

Krzysztof Kieslowski's "The Decalogue" is one of the most powerful cinematic experiences you'll ever have, and probably the best ensemble cast I've ever seen (if you consider them a single film, like I do). I used to think Mike Nichols, Ingmar Bergman and Robert Altman were the supreme actor's directors, but I might consider Kieslowski (1941-1996) my #1 for this project alone. It helps that all the actors are unknown to most of us and not famous Hollywood stars, and that makes the experience even more real, but that wouldn't be much if they couldn't act. I had seen Kieslowski's "Three Colors" (which happens to be my all-time favourite trilogy), but I didn't think of him as a particular actor's director because Juliette Binoche or Julie Delpy don't necessarily need a great director to deliver a great performance (I'm not sure about Irène Jacob, though; I haven't seen "The Double Life of Veronique", in which she's supposed to be brilliant, and I do like her in "Red", but she never impressed me in any movie not directed by Kieslowski). Adrianna Bierdzynska (who looks like a cross between Jennifer Jason Leigh and Hilary Swank) and Olaf Lubaszenko, from segments 4 and 6, respectively, stand out; they're more Oscar-worthy than 90% of the nominees of the past decade; but every member of the cast did a terrific job. Stanley Kubrick described "The Decalogue" as the only masterpiece he could name in his lifetime - if that doesn't make you curious to watch this poignant, unique experience, then you're not a film lover. 10 out of 10 in my books.

The Decalogue is without doubt a monument of movie history. The ten films are apparently based on the ten commandments, but this relationship is tentative. Kieslowski himself commented that "the films should be influenced by the individual Commandments to the same degree that the Commandments influence our daily lives". The amazing thing about them is that they are much more than a series of abstract cinematic emblems. Assisted by superlative acting, they acquire each their own depth, their own real personalities and complex dilemmas. Kieslowski presents a cinematic view of morality that is about as sophisticated as it gets. A grand achievement of one of the great film-makers of the twentieth century.

If ever there was a good reason to start learning Polish, the Dekalog series is the definitive reason. The extent to which Kieslowski goes to show us what it is to be human, cannot be compared to the work of any film-maker. Yes, Ken Loach is the master of the social drama, and Lars Von Trier is without a doubt the best experimental melodramatist, but Kieslowski just manages to outclass them both in 10 powerful, striking and breath-taking stories losely based on the 10 Commandments. It's a must-see, don't take my word for it...go watch it !