Program – The Decalogue (Polish)

Ten suggestions about renting and watching Krzystof Kieslowski's "The Decalogue." This is a three disc set featuring ten one-hour movies filmed for Polish television back in the late 1980's.

I. Put this on your movie bucket list. This is the real deal. If you love filmed stories, or real untidy life or great movie making, get past the Polish language, and give each hour your attention.

II. Read Roger Ebert's essay before you start. Some critics think that Roger got some of it wrong. More important than what he thinks of one movie or another, you'll find his enthusiasm a good deal before you begin the series.

III. For goodness sakes, do not watch all ten hours in one (or two) sittings. They're too heavy. Take your time with these movies.

IV. Consider watching it with others, and talking about it.

V. Curate movies made by current film makers as a counterpoint. I think "Thank You For Smoking", "Juno", and "Up in the Air" -- Jason Reitman's output to date -- would work, Watch them in the order they were made after you watch each DVD. Reitman's tone provides relief from the weight of Kieslowski's. It also allows you to realize that Reitman's movies deal with real dramatic stuff in spite of their humor. You could do the same with other directors, or just watch another movie after you watch each of the movies in this series.

I think we're in a new and not-yet titled golden age of movies. We have guys like Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood at their peak. We have the Coen Brothers and Wes Anderson creating some new way of looking at movies. We have European directors like Tom Tykwer who can go back and forth between thrillers and thoughtful and deep movies. All of these directors deal with the issues that Kieslowski did in new ways.

VI. Realize that Kieslowski did not make each film to relate exactly to its ten commandment counterpart. If you get hung up on that, some of the movies actually lose some of their power.

VII. Forgive the Facets people for some of the less-than-perfect transfer to the DVD format.

VIII. Appreciate how many roles had to be cast for this series. Acting was almost always perfect.

IX. Recognize that Kieslowski was not a believer, but that he understood the power of the ten commandments in ways that those with a more self-centered faith cannot.

X. Forgive me for being so cutesy about this posting.