Dekalog

{{short description|1988–1989 Film cycle directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski}}

{{Infobox television

| image = Dekalog cover.jpg

| caption = Blu-ray box set cover

| director = Krzysztof Kieślowski

| producer = Ryszard Chutkowski

| writer = {{Plainlist|

Krzysztof Kieślowski
Krzysztof Piesiewicz

}}

| starring = Artur Barciś
see below

| music = Zbigniew Preisner

| cinematography = {{Plainlist|

Wieslaw Zdort
Piotr Sobociński

}}

| editor = Ewa Smal

| company = {{Plainlist|

Zespol Filmowy "Tor"
Sender Freies Berlin
Telewizja Polska

}}

| network =

| first_aired = {{Start date|df=y|1989|12|10}}

| last_aired = {{End date|df=y|1990|06|29}}

| runtime = 572 minutes

| country = Poland

| language = Polish

| budget = $100,000 {{small|(all parts)}}{{Cite web |last=Reed |first=Christopher |date=2017-02-28 |title=THE CURBSIDE CRITERION: DEKALOG |url=https://www.hammertonail.com/blu-ray/criterion-dekalog-blu/ |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Hammer to Nail |language=en-US}}

}}

Dekalog ({{IPA|pl|dɛˈkalɔg|pron}}, also known as Dekalog: The Ten Commandments and The Decalogue) is a 1989 Polish drama television miniseries directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski{{Cite web|title=Biography of Krysztof Kieślowski|url=http://www.facets.org/decalogue/biography.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724173154/http://www.facets.org/decalogue/biography.html|archive-date=24 July 2010|access-date=6 June 2017|website=Facets}} and co-written by Kieślowski with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, with music by Zbigniew Preisner.{{Cite web|last=Tanzer|first=Joshua|date=20 January 2001|title=A perfect 10 - film review THE DECALOGUE (Dekalog 1 through Dekalog 10)|url=http://www.offoffoff.com/film/2001/decalogue.php|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091227162129/http://www.offoffoff.com/film/2001/decalogue.php|archive-date=27 December 2009|access-date=6 June 2017|website=Offoffoff}} It consists of ten one-hour films, inspired by the decalogue of the Ten Commandments.{{Cite web|title=Dekalog: The Ten Commandments|url=https://www.closeupfilmcentre.com/film_programmes/2011/dekalog-the-ten-commandments/|access-date=2020-10-21|website=Close-Up Film Centre}} Each installment explores characters facing one or several moral or ethical dilemmas as they reside in an austere housing project in 1980s Poland.

Exhibited in its entirety at the 46th Venice International Film Festival,{{cn|date=January 2025}} the series, Kieślowski's most acclaimed work,{{cite web|title=Krzysztof Kieślowski's Acclaimed Films|url=http://www.theyshootpictures.com/kieslowskikrzysztof.php|access-date=30 December 2016|website=They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?|archive-date=11 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411131236/http://www.theyshootpictures.com/kieslowskikrzysztof.php|url-status=dead}} was said in 2002 to be "the best dramatic work ever done specifically for television"{{Cite web|last=Fulford|first=Robert|date=14 May 2002|title=Kieslowski's magnificent Decalogue|url=http://www.robertfulford.com/Decalogue.html|access-date=2020-10-21|website=RobertFulford.com|via=The National Post}} and has won numerous international awards, though it did not receive wide release outside Europe until the late 1990s.{{Cite web|title=The Critics on The Decalogue|url=http://www.facets.org/decalogue/reviews.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724165722/http://www.facets.org/decalogue/reviews.html|archive-date=24 July 2010|access-date=13 May 2020|website=Facets}} It is one of fifteen films listed in the category "Values" on the Vatican film list. In 1991, filmmaker Stanley Kubrick wrote an admiring foreword to the published screenplay,{{Cite book|last1=Kieślowski|first1=Krzysztof|last2=Piesiewicz|first2=Krzysztof|last3=Kubrick|first3=Stanley|date=January 1991|title=Kubrick on Kieslowski|url=http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0078.html|access-date=2020-10-21|website=The Kubrick FAQ|location=London|via=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0571144983}} wherein Dekalog is the only masterpiece he could think of.{{Cite web|date=2008-06-23|title=Why The Decalogue Still Matters After Twenty Years|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-the-decalogue-still-m_b_108594|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-26|website=HuffPost|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226144437/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-the-decalogue-still-m_b_108594 |archive-date=26 December 2021 }}

Episodes

class="wikitable"
Episode ! Cast ! Cinematography
Dekalog: One \| {{ublist\|Henryk Baranowski\|Wojciech Klata\|Maja Komorowska}} \| Wiesław Zdort
Dekalog: Two \| {{ublist\|Krystyna Janda\|Aleksander Bardini\|Olgierd Łukaszewicz}} \| Edward Klosiński
Dekalog: Three \| {{ublist\|Daniel Olbrychski\|Maria Pakulnis\|Joanna Szczepkowska}} \| Piotr Sobociński
Dekalog: Four \| {{ublist\|Adrianna Biedrzyńska\|Janusz Gajos\|Adam Hanuszkiewicz}} \| Krzysztof Pakulski
Dekalog: Five \| {{ublist\|Mirosław Baka\|Jan Tesarz\|Krzysztof Globisz}} \| Sławomir Idziak
Dekalog: Six \| {{ublist\|Olaf Lubaszenko\|Grażyna Szapołowska Stefania Iwińska}} \| Witold Adamek
Dekalog: Seven \| {{ublist\|Anna Polony\|Maja Barełkowska\|Bogusław Linda}} \| Dariusz Kuc
Dekalog: Eight \| {{ublist\|Teresa Marczewska\|Maria Kościałkowska\|Bronisław Pawlik}} \| Andrzej Jaroszewicz
Dekalog: Nine \| {{ublist\|Ewa Błaszczyk\|Piotr Machalica\|Jan Jankowski}} \| Piotr Sobociński
Dekalog: Ten \| {{ublist\|Jerzy Stuhr\|Zbigniew Zamachowski\|Henryk Bista}} \| Jacek Bławut

class="wikitable"

Episode

! Cast

! Cinematography

Dekalog: One

| {{ublist|Henryk Baranowski|Wojciech Klata|Maja Komorowska}}

| Wiesław Zdort

Dekalog: Two

| {{ublist|Krystyna Janda|Aleksander Bardini|Olgierd Łukaszewicz}}

| Edward Klosiński

Dekalog: Three

| {{ublist|Daniel Olbrychski|Maria Pakulnis|Joanna Szczepkowska}}

| Piotr Sobociński

Dekalog: Four

| {{ublist|Adrianna Biedrzyńska|Janusz Gajos|Adam Hanuszkiewicz}}

| Krzysztof Pakulski

Dekalog: Five

| {{ublist|Mirosław Baka|Jan Tesarz|Krzysztof Globisz}}

| Sławomir Idziak

Dekalog: Six

| {{ublist|Olaf Lubaszenko|Grażyna Szapołowska
Stefania Iwińska}}

| Witold Adamek

Dekalog: Seven

| {{ublist|Anna Polony|Maja Barełkowska|Bogusław Linda}}

| Dariusz Kuc

Dekalog: Eight

| {{ublist|Teresa Marczewska|Maria Kościałkowska|Bronisław Pawlik}}

| Andrzej Jaroszewicz

Dekalog: Nine

| {{ublist|Ewa Błaszczyk|Piotr Machalica|Jan Jankowski}}

| Piotr Sobociński

Dekalog: Ten

| {{ublist|Jerzy Stuhr|Zbigniew Zamachowski|Henryk Bista}}

| Jacek Bławut

Production

The series was conceived when screenwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz, who had seen a 15th-century artwork illustrating the Commandments in scenes from that time period, suggested the idea of a modern equivalent. Filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski was interested in the philosophical challenge, and also wanted to use the series as a portrait of the hardships of Polish society, while deliberately avoiding the political issues he had depicted in earlier films. He originally meant to hire ten different directors, but decided to direct the films himself. He used a different cinematographer for each episode except III and IX, in both of which Piotr Sobociński was director of photography.{{Cite web|title=Behind the Camera: Poland's Best Cinematographers|url=http://www.facets.org/decalogue/cinematographers.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725120727/http://www.facets.org/decalogue/cinematographers.html|archive-date=25 July 2010|access-date=6 June 2017|website=Facets}}

The large cast includes both famous and unknown actors, many of whom Kieślowski also used in his other films. Typically for Kieślowski, the tone of most of the films is melancholic, except for the final one, which is a black comedy, featuring two of the same actors, Jerzy Stuhr and Zbigniew Zamachowski, as in Three Colors: White.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

Themes

The ten films are titled simply by number, e.g. Dekalog: One. According to film critic Roger Ebert's introduction to the DVD set, Kieślowski said that the films did not correspond exactly to the commandments, and never used their names himself.{{Cite web|last=Ebert|first=Roger|date=2 April 2000|title=The Decalogue movie review & film summary (1988)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-decalogue-1988|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204192300/http://www.rogerebert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000402/REVIEWS08/4020301/1023|archive-date=4 February 2013|access-date=2020-10-20|website=RogerEbert.com|language=en}} Though each film is independent, most of them share the same setting in Warsaw, and some of the characters are acquainted with each other. Each short film explores characters facing one or several moral or ethical dilemmas as they live in a large housing project in 1980s Poland. The themes can be interpreted in many different ways; however, each film has its own literality:{{Cite book |last=Kickasola|first=Joseph G. |title=The Films of Krzysztof Kieślowski:The Liminal Image |year=2006 |publisher=Continuum (Bloomsbury Publishing) |isbn=978-0-826-41559-2 |page=164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OO62cTdxi6sC}}

class="wikitable" style"font-size:85%"
Commandment (Roman Catholic Enumeration) ! Ideal ! Kieślowskian Theme
1. I am the Lord thy God... thou shalt not have other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. \| The sanctity of God and worship \| Idolisation of science
2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. \| The sanctity of speech \| Names as fundamental to identity and moral choice; the importance of one's word in human life.
3. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. \| The sanctity of time \| Time designations (holidays, day/night etc.) as repositories of meaning
4. Honor thy father and thy mother. \| The sanctity of authority \| Family and social relationship as regulators of identity
5. Thou shalt not kill. \| The sanctity of life \| Murder and punishment
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery. \| The sanctity of love \| The nature and relation of love and passion
7. Thou shalt not steal. \| The sanctity of dominion \| Possession as human need and temptation
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. \| The sanctity of truth \| The difficulties of truth amid desperate evil
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. \| The sanctity of emotional contentment \| Sex, jealousy, and fidelity
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods. \| The sanctity of material contentment \| Greed and relationships

class="wikitable" style"font-size:85%"

Commandment (Roman Catholic Enumeration)

! Ideal

! Kieślowskian Theme

1. I am the Lord thy God... thou shalt not have other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.

| The sanctity of God and worship

| Idolisation of science

2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

| The sanctity of speech

| Names as fundamental to identity and moral choice; the importance of one's word in human life.

3. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

| The sanctity of time

| Time designations (holidays, day/night etc.) as repositories of meaning

4. Honor thy father and thy mother.

| The sanctity of authority

| Family and social relationship as regulators of identity

5. Thou shalt not kill.

| The sanctity of life

| Murder and punishment

6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

| The sanctity of love

| The nature and relation of love and passion

7. Thou shalt not steal.

| The sanctity of dominion

| Possession as human need and temptation

8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

| The sanctity of truth

| The difficulties of truth amid desperate evil

9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.

| The sanctity of emotional contentment

| Sex, jealousy, and fidelity

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.

| The sanctity of material contentment

| Greed and relationships

=Recurring character of Artur Barciś=

A nameless character played by Polish actor Artur Barciś appears in all but episodes 7 and 10. He observes the main characters at key moments, and never intervenes.

class="wikitable" style"font-size:85%"
width="100"\|Episode ! Character played by Artur Barciś
Dekalog: One \| A homeless man sitting by a fire near the lake
Dekalog: Two \| A laboratory assistant/orderly in the hospital
Dekalog: Three \| A tram driver
Dekalog: Four \| A man rowing a boat and later seen carrying the boat
Dekalog: Five \| A construction worker holding a measuring pole and then as a different construction worker carrying a ladder
Dekalog: Six \| A man carrying bags of groceries
Dekalog: Seven \| Does not appear (Barciś was meant to be a man at the railway station, but Kieślowski experienced technical difficulties that prevented the character's inclusion in this episode)Stok, Danusia, ed. (1993). Kieślowski on Kieślowski. London: Faber and Faber. {{ISBN\|0-571-17328-4}}Dekalog is available on DVD and Blu-ray disks; these boxed sets are produced by TVP, Television Poland. The film images have been digitally reconstructed and the sound remastered. According to the table, the nameless character does not appear in Dekalog Seven. However, the DVD box set shows a man on crutches getting off the train, and includes Artur Barciś in the credits at the end. So there must be two different versions of Dekalog, the original and the digitised.
Dekalog: Eight \| A student at the university
Dekalog: Nine \| A man riding a bicycle
Dekalog: Ten \| Does not appear

class="wikitable" style"font-size:85%"

width="100"|Episode

! Character played by Artur Barciś

Dekalog: One

| A homeless man sitting by a fire near the lake

Dekalog: Two

| A laboratory assistant/orderly in the hospital

Dekalog: Three

| A tram driver

Dekalog: Four

| A man rowing a boat and later seen carrying the boat

Dekalog: Five

| A construction worker holding a measuring pole and then as a different construction worker carrying a ladder

Dekalog: Six

| A man carrying bags of groceries

Dekalog: Seven

| Does not appear (Barciś was meant to be a man at the railway station, but Kieślowski experienced technical difficulties that prevented the character's inclusion in this episode)Stok, Danusia, ed. (1993). Kieślowski on Kieślowski. London: Faber and Faber. {{ISBN|0-571-17328-4}}Dekalog is available on DVD and Blu-ray disks; these boxed sets are produced by TVP, Television Poland. The film images have been digitally reconstructed and the sound remastered.

According to the table, the nameless character does not appear in Dekalog Seven. However, the DVD box set shows a man on crutches getting off the train, and includes Artur Barciś in the credits at the end. So there must be two different versions of Dekalog, the original and the digitised.

Dekalog: Eight

| A student at the university

Dekalog: Nine

| A man riding a bicycle

Dekalog: Ten

| Does not appear

=Milk=

Milk is a recurring element in the following 7 episodes:

class="wikitable" style"font-size:85%"
width="100"\|Episode ! Occurrence of milk in The Decalogue
Dekalog: One \| The milk is sour.
Dekalog: Two \| The doctor goes to buy milk.
Dekalog: Four \| Michał leaves the house to buy milk.
Dekalog: Six \| Tomek becomes a milkman. Magda spills milk on the table.
Dekalog: Seven \| Ewa tries to breastfeed Ania without any milk. Wojtek tells Majka that Ania needs a home with milk.
Dekalog: Eight \| There is an unopened bottle of milk on the table while Zofia and Elżbieta are having dinner.
Dekalog: Nine \| Roman is pouring milk while watching a child play.

class="wikitable" style"font-size:85%"

width="100"|Episode

! Occurrence of milk in The Decalogue

Dekalog: One

| The milk is sour.

Dekalog: Two

| The doctor goes to buy milk.

Dekalog: Four

| Michał leaves the house to buy milk.

Dekalog: Six

| Tomek becomes a milkman. Magda spills milk on the table.

Dekalog: Seven

| Ewa tries to breastfeed Ania without any milk. Wojtek tells Majka that Ania needs a home with milk.

Dekalog: Eight

| There is an unopened bottle of milk on the table while Zofia and Elżbieta are having dinner.

Dekalog: Nine

| Roman is pouring milk while watching a child play.

Reception

{{Metacritic film prose |score=100 |count=14|ref=yes |access-date=1 January 2025}} It won the 1991 BAFTA TV Award for Best International Programme{{cite web|title=Television in 1991|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1991/television|website=bafta.org}} and the Bodil Award for Best European Film.{{cite web |title=1991 |website=Bodilprisen |date=19 October 2015 |url=http://www.bodilprisen.dk/aar-for-aar/1991-2/ |language=Danish |access-date=29 June 2021}} The film also won the Best Foreign Film award from French Syndicate of Cinema Critics.{{cite web|title=SFCC Critics' Award 1990|url=https://www.syndicatdelacritique.com/page-prix-sfcc/1990|website=Syndicate de la Critique}}

The series was praised by renowned film critics including Roger Ebert and Robert Fulford, as well as important figures from the film industry, such as Stanley Kubrick.

In the 2002 Sight & Sound poll to determine the greatest films of all time, Dekalog and A Short Film About Killing received votes from 4 critics and 3 directors, including Ebert, New Yorker critic David Denby, and director Mira Nair.{{Cite web|title=The 100 Greatest Films of All Time|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/greatest-films-all-time|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902123023/http://www.bfi.org.uk/greatest-films-all-time|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 September 2012|access-date=2020-10-21|website=British Film Institute|language=en}} Additionally, in the Sight & Sound poll held the same year to determine the top 10 films of the previous 25 years, Kieslowski was named #2 on the list of Top Directors, with votes for his films being split between Dekalog, Three Colors Red/Blue, and The Double Life of Veronique.{{Cite web|date=December 2002|title=Modern Times - UK Critics' Top Ten Poll|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/63|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307030723/http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/63|archive-date=7 March 2012|access-date=13 May 2020|website=British Film Institute}}

In the 2012 polls Dekalog received six votes from critics including Kenneth Turan and one vote from director Milcho Manchevski as the Greatest Film of All Time.{{cite web|title=votes for Dekalog|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4f4b9f666e4c8/sightandsoundpoll2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401042748/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4f4b9f666e4c8/sightandsoundpoll2012|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 April 2017|website=bfi}}

The Village Voice ranked The Decalogue at No. 112 in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics.{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10 |title=Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll |access-date=27 July 2006 |year=1999 |work=The Village Voice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826201343/http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10 |archive-date=26 August 2007}} In January 2002, the film was listed among the Top 100 "Essential Films" of all time by the National Society of Film Critics.{{Cite book |last=Carr|first=Jay |title=The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films |year=2002 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-81096-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/alistnationalsoc00jayc/page/81 81] |url=https://archive.org/details/alistnationalsoc00jayc |url-access=registration|access-date=27 July 2012 }} The film ranked #36 in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010.{{cite web|title=The 100 Best Films of World Cinema {{!}} 36. Dekalog|url=http://www.empireonline.com/features/100-greatest-world-cinema-films/default.asp?film=36|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924050800/http://www.empireonline.com/features/100-greatest-world-cinema-films/default.asp?film=36|archive-date=24 September 2015|work=Empire}}

In a 2025 Criterion Closet Video,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYw5P3tmba0?si=SiVblg8TNSm6wTKK Director Brady Corbet called The Decalogue "[M]aybe the greatest achievement in the history of cinema."

Longer feature films

Kieślowski expanded Five and Six into longer feature films (A Short Film About Killing and A Short Film About Love), using the same cast and changing the stories slightly. This was part of a contractual obligation with the producers, since feature films were easier to distribute outside Poland.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} In 2000, the series was released on five DVDs, each containing two parts of about 2 hours.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

References

External links

{{IMDb title|0092337}}
{{Rotten Tomatoes|the_decalogue|The Decalogue}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20091012061822/http://www.filmref.com/directors/dirpages/kieslowski.html Short overview of The Decalogue and some other Kieslowski films at www.filmref.com]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060613212812/http://artsandfaith.com/t100/2005/entry.php?film=19 The Decalogue] at the [https://web.archive.org/web/20060705151450/http://www.artsandfaith.com/t100/ Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list (2005)]
[http://artsandfaith.com/t100/dekalog.html Voted #2 on The Arts and Faith Top 100 Films] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412000605/http://artsandfaith.com/t100/dekalog.html |date=12 April 2010 }} (2010)
[https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4235--and-so-on-kie-lowski-s-dekalog-and-the-metaphysics-of-the-everyday “And So On”: Kieślowski’s Dekalog and the Metaphysics of the Everyday] an essay by Paul Coates at the Criterion Collection