Dekalog
(1989)
Overview
Originally made for Polish television, “The Decalogue” focuses on the residents of a housing complex in late-Communist Poland, whose lives become subtly intertwined as they face emotional dilemmas that are at once deeply personal and universally human. Its ten hour-long films, drawing from the Ten Commandments for thematic inspiration and an overarching structure, grapple deftly with complex moral and existential questions concerning life, death, love, hate, truth, and the passage of time.
Cast
Episodes
Dekalog: One 9.0
December 10, 1989
“I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no other God but me.” Ten-year-old Pawel and his father Krzysztof run their liv…
Dekalog: Two 7.7
May 11, 1990
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” An elderly doctor is approached by a woman with a complicat…
Dekalog: Three 7.0
May 18, 1990
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Janusz is a taxi driver. It’s Christmas Eve, and he honours the (Polish) t…
Dekalog: Four 8.3
May 25, 1990
“Honour thy father and thy mother.” Young Anka and her father have lived together since her mother’s death, and have al…
Dekalog: Five 8.7
June 1, 1990
“Thou shalt not kill.” A shorter, slightly less graphic version of “A Short Film About Killing,” but the plot is essent…
Dekalog: Six 8.7
June 8, 1990
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” A shorter, scaled-down version of “A Short Film About Love,” with a less complex plot…
Dekalog: Seven 8.0
June 15, 1990
“Thou shalt not steal.” But in this case the “theft” is of a child by her real mother, who then finds herself emotional…
Dekalog: Eight 7.0
June 22, 1990
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” A Polish-American researcher visits Warsaw and attends a lec…
Dekalog: Nine 8.3
June 29, 1990
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife.” Roman, after discovering his impotence, urges his wife Hanka to take a lov…
Dekalog: Ten 8.3
July 6, 1990
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s goods.” Especially not when it leads to the conclusion of this black comedy about…