Review

"We live in the world lacking idea on itself": Krzysztof Kieslowski's Art of Film
Tadeusz Miczka in Kinema

Later they developed Dekalog (Decalogue, 1988- 1989), a series of ten feature films based on the idea of the ten commandments.⁽¹²⁾ Decalogue brought its creators international fame while in Poland they were regarded as controversial artists since they did not "utter the name of God to misuse it."

K. Kieślowski: "[...] I think if there is anybody like God who created everything around, and us, too, I think we often get out of His hand. When you glance at the history of the world, our history, it can be easily seen how often we get out of hand."⁽¹³⁾

It can be said that Kieślowski looked for God but found him inside of people. He treated the plots in Decalogue as 'court files' presenting two opposing attitudes toward life. He did not divide his characters into those redeemed and the ones condemned. He transcribed sacred texts his own way; his stories can hardly be united with the Catholic doctrine in which the human fate is a part of mysterious divine intention.

In Decalogue I ("You shall have no gods before me") an extreme rationalist, who was not able to predict unplanned events, sustained a calamity. The man was sure that by using a computer he could properly calculate the thickness of the lake's ice, but his son drowned there. In Decalogue II ("You shall not utter the name of your God in vain") a young woman artist decided to give birth to a child conceived with her lover after the doctor had lied to her that her husband's death was unavoidable. The character of Decalogue III ("Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy"), the adulterous husband left his lover on a Christmas Eve as he realized the motive of his behaviour. The character of Decalogue IV ("Honour your father and your mother"), a female ex- student, learnt she had an adoptive father. She searched with him for truth on their mutual feelings and wishes. In Decalogue V ("Thou shalt not kill") the director reminded the viewers that their attitude towards capital punishment is of crucial importance when they want to be a part of a civilized society.

Decalogue VI ("Thou shalt not commit adultery") was a story about the meeting of a shy teenager and a promiscuous young woman. The meeting changed their lives: The boy stopped believing in love while the girl realized its true value. Decalogue VII ("Thou shalt not steal") illustrated the rivalry between a mother and a grandmother over a child. Two female characters in Decalogue VIII ("Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbour"), an ethics professor and an elderly Jew, try to come to terms with the past (Nazi occupation) and explain the reasons why a Polish woman refused to help a Jewish child. Decalogue IX ("Thou shalt not covet your neighbour's wife") reveals the drama of an impotent cardiologist's jealousy of his wife's affair with a young man. In Decalogue X: ("Thou shalt not covet your neighbour's house or anything that is his") the characters were brothers wishing to enlarge inherited assets. One of them decided to swap his kidney for an invaluable postage stamp to complete a set. However, their greed was mocked by fate since during the operation in a hospital their house was robbed.

Kieślowski rarely illustrated the commandments (as in parts 1 and 5); he usually outlined their interpretation (in part 3), but most often he modified their traditional meaning (as in part 2 and 8). He did not hide his cognitive skepticism. He considered the events of each episode from a different perspective. By creating a character who appeared in each episode (performed by the same actor in different roles, such as a man with a ladder, suitcases or a boat) and situating all episodes into the same location (modern apartment subdivision), the author established a unified concept of the series. Gianni Buttafava was right when he wrote: "[...] the wish to give the series formal unity was honestly preserved: There is no highest will determining the events, or maybe there is, but each of us should find it for himself according to his faith."⁽¹⁴⁾

The plots of Decalogue avoided religious postulates and attitudes and as such they were not appreciated by Poles who were usually given dogmatic truths in the shape of a sermon or homily.