"Dekalog" (1989) TV series

User Rating:

9.2/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

10 December 1989 (Poland)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Ten television drama films, each one based on one of the Ten Commandments.

Awards:

8 wins

Cast

Artur Barcis

...

Young Man / ... (9 episodes, 1989-1990)

Also Known As:

"The Decalogue" (USA) (video title)
"The Ten Commandments"

Runtime:

55 min (10 episodes)

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Warsaw, Poland

Company:

Sender Freies Berlin (SFB)

Trivia:

Director Stanley Kubrick described 'Dekalog' as the only masterpiece he could name in his lifetime.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Smala Sussie (2003)

If you love beautiful, heartbreaking, thoughtful movies, you'll thank me for this advice.

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.