Akere Simms - Blog Decalogue

 In Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Decalogue films, the audience will gain a deeper understanding on the Midrash motive; connecting both films to the 10 commandments, and the laws a Christian must abide by so that they may strive and live more like Christ. In the first decalogue, the audience will gather the setting of a young intelligent boy(Pawel), whose aunt wishes that he enhances his own spiritual connection. When with his father, they both subconsciously find themselves consumed by a man made computer. He asks his father what “death” truly is, seeking for more than just the scientific answer most people would say. “Death is a memory, thoughts and specific characteristics of one person after they have passed on.” When Pawel and his father come to discover that the computer they have has the ability to form a consciousness all while being extremely intelligent; they begin to feel (or at least Pawel) that they can visualize his mom’s dreams all while communicating with her. Krzystof (Pawel’s dad), who is a professor at a local university and his son, soon calculate if it is possible to skate on the local ice pond nearby using the computer. When finding out that it is possible, Krzystof grants permission to his son, gifting him with a new pair of skates. The next day, Krzystof gets a call that his son might have fallen inside of an ice pond while skating. After desperately watching, he comes to find out that his son Pawel had drowned and froze to death in the pond. When Krzystof arrives home, he finds the computer has turned on with the message, “”I am ready”. The film does a great job of portraying how items of the world can distract us from focusing on One God, as it is said in the 10 commandments that no man should worship multiple gods; only Christ. The worshiping of other gods is depicted in this film through the attention and trust Krzysztof and his son Pawel put into a computer; letting it make life decisions for them that leads to one of them getting killed. The “I am ready” message is portrayed as some kind of cliff hanger; however, items of the world are tempting, and are eagerly waiting to draw us away from morals; when they have succeeded in such ways they come back for more, hence the “I am ready”. 

In the second decalogue film, the audience will gain a better understanding of the systematic corruption of the government, and the commandment demanding God’s servants not to kill one another. One of the main characters “Jacek” is portrayed as the sinister type, with no reason or explanation behind his intent. The act of him brutally strangling and murdering a taxi driver is foreshadowed early in the film, as he is seen tying a rope around his hand under the table at a coffee shop. Just young Jacek crosses paths with the taxi driver he is about to murder, a young man has just passed his lawyer exam. After the murder has taken place, and Jacek is put on trial and sentenced to death, Piotr (the lawyer & Jacek’s defender) discusses the life of young Jacek before he is hanged by the local government. Jacek discusses the family he missed prior to his actions, recalling his sister whom he loved dearly that passed, asking about his mother; if she was crying, and requesting to be buried next to his father in the cemetery. As Jaceks time was running out, you could see the terror expanding throughout his face. The audience could pick up that maybe he regretted such things, or that he thought to himself that he does not deserve to be killed. It is said in the Bible that we shall not kill one another; and in response to capital murder, the legal system, without hesitation committed murder, to justify the act of murder. Does this legal government/system In the name of the people and the civilians who must abide by the law and follow its rules to avoid punishment, have the right to murder someone brutally just because they did? Instead of 1 killing, there were 2, instead of 1 family mourning, there were 2. 

Regarding both films Kubrick wrote: it should not be out of place to observe that they have the very rare ability to dramatize their ideas rather than just talking about them. By making their points through the dramatic action of the story they gain the added power of allowing the audience to discover what's really going on rather than being told. They do this with such dazzling skill, you never see the ideas coming and don't realize until much later how profoundly they have reached your heart. As Jacek murdered, discussed his family, and ended up being murdered himself, the audience could feel their ideas about the act of killing, regardless if it was being used in a justifiable manner or not.