catapult magazine

Hello, I’m a film student in North Carolina, and lately I’ve been exposing myself to Christian influenced cinema, such as Bergman’s Film Trilogy and Seventh Seal. But lately my search for faith in film has led me to come across Kieslowski’s The Decalogue. I was wondering what you guys thought for their interpretation of the ten commandments? I thought it very valid and EXTREMELY powerful upon reflection. Also, to those of you who have never seen and and may be interested: The Decalogue is a Polish directors interpretation of the ten commandments and his transference of their values into situations in Poland. It’s ten hours long, split into one-hour per commandment segments. I recommend everyone see them and watch them with a friend so as to talk about them and learn from their amazing meaning. So what did you think, those who have been fortunate enough to see it?

I watched the first two in the series and had trouble following the logic of the films, i.e. how they are related to the Ten Commandments. Maybe you could explain a bit more. I have access to them and would like to see the whole thing, but I felt like I might have to find out more about why they were made—I understand it had something to do with the film-maker’s sense that Poland was losing its sense of ethics. I did find the films to be very rich and interesting. Kieslowsky also did the Red, White and Blue films, right?

I watched the first two in the series and had trouble following the logic of the films, i.e. how they are related to the Ten Commandments. Maybe you could explain a bit more. I have access to them and would like to see the whole thing, but I felt like I might have to find out more about why they were made—I understand it had something to do with the film-maker’s sense that Poland was losing its sense of ethics. I did find the films to be very rich and interesting. Kieslowsky also did the Red, White and Blue films, right?

technically Blue, White, and Red for the French flag procession. Well the first Decalogue is for the commandment “I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt have no other gods before me” and the plot was about how the father and son were using their computer to measure ice temperatures to know when it would be ok to skate on a frozen lake. In a sense, then honoured the computer as a false god, hoping that it would reveal to them all of the answers they hoped to find, and in the end the boy suffered by death for this action. The second one is about a woman who has had an affair with another man, but who’s husband is deathly ill. She discovers that she is pregnant and seeks a doctors advice in what she should do. If her husband lives, she will abort the baby, if he dies, she will keep it. The doctors knows that his decision will determine the fate of one of two lives, thus he takes on the role of God in a sense. The woman is treating his role in this as something he must do, and she takes for granted the burden that she has laid upon him, thus following the commandment “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.” An important thing to remember is that these films are not cold hard representations of the Ten Commandments but are all inspired by them and teach a different moral lesson. So definitely check them out, and the Three Colours Trilogy if you’ve never seen those either.

I just recently watched Blue, White, and Red again and loved them. They’re not immediately accessible, but there’s much to appreciate about them once you have that “ah ha” experience. I was listening to an audio track on the DVD and it was talking about how Kieslowski uses music, not for dramatic effect, but as part of the narrative of the film itself. An interesting point. Kieslowski is also interested in community in a down to earth sort of way. In each of the movies he has an old, stooped-over woman struggling to put a bottle into the top of recycling bin. In the first three movies, characters are oblivious to this old woman, but in the final movie (Red), the main character walks over a helps her put the bottle in the bin. When asked the significance of these scenes, he said that he simply wanted to remind his audience that they too would one day be old and unable to put a bottle in a recycling bin. It fits the theme of the movies in general and subtly reminds the audience to look around them once in a while.

I just saw the first series in the Decalogue and want to see the others when I have more time. I thought the first one was straightforward almost to a fault, but I love his characters. They do strike me as endearing and convincing. I recognize a bit of myself in them. It would be easy in such a series to become preachy and contrived, but Kieslowski, I am confident, will resist this temptation throughout.

Bleu, Blanc, and Rouge were wonderful masterpieces in that way. Their humility truly makes them art and not only that, it makes them life. Rouge was my favorite out of the two because of its portrayal of love. I am a sucker for love in films when it’s not used in a romantic way or paternal way. Like in Lost in Translation, they were just friends, and that really spoke to me. All too often directors add romance in a film where it should not be, but it takes a lot to have the protagonists of a movie love one another but not be in love with one another. Kieslowski is the master of this technique which is taunts you with toward the end of the Decalogue. I always thought the meaning behind the The Three Colours Triology was fairly easy to grasp in that sense, also, music does play a major role in his films. Bleu is a shining example of music being the main plot device. There are the moments when the music has a sort of “interlude,” if you will, when the screen is blank and then it comes back in and the character that Juliet Binoche is portraying has come to a crossroads and made a decision. Those films are absolutely gorgeous and the cinematography is a work of art in its own right. Zbigniew Preisner is a musical prodigy as is reflected within the films. And if you’ve seen The Double Life of Veronique, you will see the musical tie ins that he is so famous for.

I can watch the Trois Couleurs films over and over. I never get tired of them. Part of it, I have to admit, is the beautiful woman in each one, and how the camera lingers on her. French films do that a lot.

Yeah, dan. You’re kind of fond of those European ladies. You really liked Lola and that other French girl that did silly things too.

Thanks for the synopsis of the first two Kieslowsky films. I kind of gathered that’s what Kieslowsky was doing, but I didn’t think it was any great take on the Commandments. The films are very good, but so far I am not drawn to them as a Christian believer or anything. I never really liked the Commandments that much, anyway, maybe that’s my problem. They were always so damned hard to remember.