|
The Decalogue
Kryztof Kieslowski's masterpiece, ten one-hour
films about each of the Ten Commandments. But those who watch the films
primarily to dig out any obvious connections between the Thou Shalt Not
depicted and the action may be frustrated — which may have been Kieslowski's
strategy. For there turns out to be a vast moral depth to be plumbed in
these ten fully-realized stories and settings, one that will not reduce
to treating them as simple parables with a moral tagged on at the end. The
films force us to lower our guard, let go of our usual Cecil B. DeMille
handles on Scriptural strictures, and in the end trick us into confronting
the Moral Law and both the attractiveness and the consequences of sin, in
an unexpected, possibly life-transforming way. Made for Polish television,
the films feature cinematic production values and the eye of a director
who knows both beautiful composition and subtlety in story telling. The
Decalogue will be shown in Polish, with English subtitles.
Screenings of The Decalogue will be hosted by Scott Young.
|
