The Decalogue and Man's Search for Reason


Krzysztof Kieslowski’s ten movie series, The Decalogue, is one of the most impressive feats of cinema of all time. To make one masterclass piece of cinema is one thing, but to create ten incredible films that stand out on their own right, but also coincide with each other thematically and situationally is an extraordinary accomplishment. These films are connected thematically by each one being based on one of the ten commandments, hence the name Decalogue. The films are also connected in location, with the whole series taking place within a housing project in 1980s Poland. While watching the two we watched in class I was struck by the subtle the filmmaking, as I was expecting much more explicit connections to the commandments they were based on. This was the case more so for film one than five. One was based on the commandment “You shall have no other gods before Me,” and followed the story of a father who loses his son in a horrible accident. This film shows how logical and scientific reasoning can blind us to the random chance of fate. Krzysztof, the father, is incredulous towards the ice breaking and his son drowning, since he had done so many calculations that showed that was impossible. Krzysztof in this film tried to, in a sense, put science as a god before God, who is represented by the randomness of fate and our inability to calculate everything within our chaotic world. The imagery at the end is powerful but did make me question the final message. As Krzysztof breaks down the alter, a knocked over candle makes tears fall on the face of the Madonna. He then tries to cross himself with holy water but finds that it had all frozen up. Is this to say that the redemption that Krzysztof seeks is now out of reach? Had he spent too much of his life disavowing himself from the sacred and hiding within the cold of the logical, calculated world? It certainly seems like that part of the message of this film was decrying the hubris of modern man who thinks he knows everything and can predict the natural world, ignoring the chaotic and unpredictable nature of the supernatural, and of the universe as a whole.

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