"Dekalog" Dekalog, jeden (1989)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writers:

Krzysztof Kieslowski (writer)
Krzysztof Piesiewicz (writer)

TV Series:

"Dekalog" (1989)

Original Air Date:

10 December 1989 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

"I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no other God but me." Ten-year-old Pawel and his father Krzysztof...

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Frozen Lake | Religion | Young Boy | Chess

Cast

Henryk Baranowski	...	Krzysztof
Wojciech Klata	...	Pawel
Maja Komorowska	...	Irena
Artur Barcis	...	Man in the sheepskin
Maria Gladkowska	...	Girl
Ewa Kania	...	Ewa Jezierska
Aleksandra Kisielewska	...	Woman
Aleksandra Majsiuk	...	Ola
Magda Sroga-Mikolajczyk	...	Journalist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maciej Borninski
Agnieszka Brustman	...	Chess player
Maciej Slawinski
Anna Smal-Romanska
Bozena Wróbel
Piotr Wyrzykowski

Also Known As:

"The Decalogue": I Am the Lord Thy God (#1.1) (USA)

Runtime:

53 min | USA:55 min | Argentina:57 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Warsaw, Poland

Company:

Sender Freies Berlin (SFB)

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the scene where Krzysztof is in the bathroom and looks in the mirror to see the ambulance, the top of the head of the camera operator is also visible in the mirror.

polanski, bergman, and some kafka

Very strange. But meant to be. This director is his own man. Even through there are strains if Polanski, Bergman, and Kafka at least in the episode no 6, the peeping tom one. What made it all so strange, and reminiscent of the above three artists, was that it went all over the place, you never knew where it was headed, and could have ended anyplace, and finally when it did end, could have kept going. The ending is hardly a finality, nobody could tell you what these two characters would be doing in even the next frame. One other thing should be said about the director: No wonder Kubrick found him fascinating. There is a lot of Eyes Wide Shut in this episode somehow, in the direct approach to character, the realistic fantasy elements of both. A Kubrick placement of the camera without any of the stark effects, much more washed out, and hurried, not as fussed over. That said, back to the beginning, still this guy has his own things to say and says them well. Yet, for some reason, there is not a single scene I ever want to see again. But definitely did not feel ripped off in the least watching it one time around. But I did keep getting the feeling of three or four other directors ghosts moving through the parade, blurring everything. The caveat being that it was only episode six: the other nine might give me entirely different takes. But since this episode revolved around peeping, looking, the absolute domain of film, I will say this, he took none of the usual routes, definitely went his own way while carrying the baggage of a lot of good directors behind him.