1001 Club - Decalogue, The (1988)

#819. The Decalogue (1988)

Why It's In The Book: "Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski was that rare filmmaker who could mix politics, comedy, religion, tragedy, and metaphysics into his works without coming across as either pretentious or silly. But sadly, just as the director was finally beginning to taste the fruits of international success, he dies unexpectedly in 1996 at the early age of 54. Without question, he accomplished more in his short career than most directors could ever hope to manage.
Although Kieslowski was the creator of many masterpieces, including The Double Life of Veronique (1991) and the Three Colors trilogy (Blue [1993], White [1994], and Red [1994]), The Decalogue may be his most profound, multifaceted, and perfect work. Originally filmed for Polish television, The Decalogue is a collection of ten hour-long short films… Many of Kieslowski’s earlier works obliquely addressed the political realities of Poland at the time, but with The Decalogue the director aims for something grander and more universal. The collection addresses the concepts of fate, chance, and faith through the intersection of different lives…
Working in close tandem with his regular screenwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz, composer Zbigniew Preisner (who created a sedate, minimal score), and nine different cinematographers, Kieslowski achieves that rare feat: A seamlessly unified diverse anthology that gets closer than almost any other film to what it means to be human. Compelling, intelligent, and poetic, The Decalogue is a true work of art that teaches even as it entertains." -1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Member Ratings

Adolytsi - 10/10
"Stanley Kubrick once remarked that there had been only one masterpiece of film made during his lifetime: Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Decalogue."
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Movie Guy Steve - 10/10
"More people should watch this. You should be one of them. Yes, you."
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nicolas krizan - 9/10
"high-class, low-key intellectual and philosophical entertainment"
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Lindsey - 8/10
"it's getting a higher rating based on the sheer effort it took to make all these stories."
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Squish - 8/10
"With each story Kieslowski has the opportunity to preach to us about sin and God, yet he chose to remain a storyteller of the dramatic, sometimes an observer, as his shooting style often expresses."
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Thomas Ostrowski - 8/10
"While I can picture this or a remake in the States, it would probably not cover the scope of emotion or realism, or even be as well-constructed like what Kieslowski did in Poland for this series."
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Overall Rating: 8.8/10