Dekalog

I would have hoped more people would have seen this superb collection of 10 short films, now that is available on video and DVD and has played on the Sundance channel. If you haven't, you are missing out on 10 superb masterpieces. Yes, they are slow-moving and some of them are very depressing, but what did you expect from this director, Adam Sandler? The acting, writing, direction, and music are all near perfection. 2 corrections to make from the earlier reviewer, these films are not in black and white, but in a very muted, monochromatic color. Also you should see them in sequence as 2 of the earlier episodes are referred to in the 8th and 10th episodes.

`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.

Dekalog is a brilliant work by Krzysztof Kieslowski and i bet if there is any other movie/series more powerful. please don't read my review just go and watch it....you will enjoy it because you will experience feelings that you have never experienced before. It's just WONDERFUL by all means. Dekalog, based on the ten commandments in a very different way, offers ten short (each is slightly under an hour) scenarios, each scenario deals with one person in a critical situation which affects him/her and people around them. The acting is great, the story is masterfully written and directed. Dekalog 1 - "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" Between God and Computers. Dekalog 2 - "Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain" Death and delivery. Dekalog 3 - "Thou shalt remember the Sabbath and keep it holy" a family man who was forced to leave his wife and children on Christmas Eve and try to help his ex-girlfriend to find her missing husband. Dekalog 4 - "Honour thy Father and Mother" A complicated relationship between a girl and her father. Dekalog 5- "Thou shalt not kill" the most powerful segment. Dekalog 6 - "Thou shalt not commit adultery" a tale of a 19-year-old shy and quiet postal worker who peeps on (and later stalks) his beautiful, free-spirited neighbor. They meet later with tragic consequences. Fascinating and very clever.

Dekalog 7 - "Thou shalt not steal" A family war. Dekalog 8 - "Thou shalt not bear false witness" An American woman returns to Poland to face a famed lecturer who during WWII refused to help her, a 6 year old girl at the time, to find a hiding place from the Nazis.

Dekalog 9 - "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife" Infidelity and unfaithfulness. Dekalog 10 - "Though shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods" Greed and obsession.

It's worth noting that about the same time this was airing on censored, Communist Poland TV, America was airing the "Heart to Heart reunion" and "V". Obviously, the Ten Commandments themes that it reportedly addressed in order are not actually in order, some of the shorts address two and even three commandments. No worries, though.

This collection is a masterpiece. It's a major accomplishment with every film short being watchable, and some being unquestionable masterpieces. Kieszlowski is a master of presenting both sides of the argument; the pregnant, cheating wife and the cuckolded husband's doctor; the peeping Tom and the lonely woman; the atheist father and the religious sister.

The final film centers on two brothers who inherit the stamp collection of their recently deceased father. They come to find that the collection is priceless and they scheme to sell it, mistrusting their father's former colleagues and ultimately one another. But despite their eventual downfall, the brothers find something of value from their folly. It's wonderfully affirming without being sentimental. That sentence probably describes most of these shorts.

Kieslowski left us way too soon. But he did leave behind a handful of achievements that place him at the forefront of filmmakers of the last quarter of the 20th century. The Three Colors movies and The Double Life of Veronique - the movies for which he is probably best known - would be enough to ensure his reputation, but is this film - or ten films, if you wish - that elevate him.

While the movies are based upon the Ten Commandments, they are not simple morality tales and illustrations. Kieslowski and his co-writer, Krzysztof Piesiewicz, create meditations that connect both intellectually and emotionally with the commandments instead. They explore the commandments' themes with the head and the heart. One great example is the first movie, in which a parent and his child use a computer to predict the freezing rate of a pond. Casting the computer and human knowledge as false Gods is not a new or unique idea, but in Kieslowski's hands, the idea expands and fills not only the mind but the heart. Man, I wish I had the vocabulary to express what moves in me every time I watch any one of these films.

Everything about this film, from the cast - always nice to see the ubiquitous Daniel Olbrychski (ubiquitous for Polish films; I always wondered if Poles ever play six degrees of Daniel Olbrychski) - on. The cinematography for each episode is ideal; the look and feel of these movies, shot with the same director but different cinematographers, are all perfect.

And who is that watchful, mute man who appears in the background of all or most of these films?

Look, just see this. Find it, rent it. If you love beautiful, heartbreaking, thoughtful movies, you'll thank me for this advice.