Article

Cunneen, Joseph

"Being Alive is a Gift": Krzysztof Kieslowski's The Decalogue
Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality - Volume 1, Number 1, Spring 2001, pp. 79-85

Joseph Cunneen - "Being Alive is a Gift": Krzysztof Kieslowski's The Decalogue - Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality 1:1 Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality 1.1 (2001) 79-85 Perspective "Being Alive is a Gift": Krzysztof Kieslowski's The Decalogue Joseph Cunneen Like most art of spiritual depth, Krzysztof Kieslowski's "The Decalogue," his series of ten one-hour films on the Ten Commandments, was not brought into being for didactic or religious purposes. The Polish film director, who died in 1996, called himself an agnostic; it was Krzysztof Piesiewicz, a criminal lawyer in Warsaw (who refers to himself as "Christian rather than Catholic") who first suggested the project and ended up collaborating on the screenplay of "The Decalogue," which was first shown on Polish TV in 1989. "Our idea was very simple," Kieslowski said. "The Decalogue is one of the ethical foundations of our society. Everyone is more or less familiar with the Ten Commandments, and agrees with them, but no one really observes them." Hailed by critics as the greatest cinematic achievement of the last generation, "The Decalogue" was known in the United States only to film festival audiences until last year, when it was released in a handsome five-video edition. Kieslowski's experience as a documentary filmmaker underlies his determination to present an intense and complex view of...