The Cinematheque

“A masterwork of modern cinema, essential viewing for anyone who cares about the movies as a serious art form.”

Stephen Holden, The New York Times

At the time of his death, Krzysztof Kieślowski was considered by some to be the most important European director of his generation. If any one of the filmmaker’s achievements can best sustain such a weighty claim, it is Dekalog. Co-written by Kieślowski and his regular collaborator Krzysztof Piesiewicz, produced for Polish TV, and screened to awe and astonishment at the Venice Film Festival in 1989, Dekalog is made up of ten self-contained, hour-long episodes based on the Ten Commandments. The cycle centres on the fallible characters of a post-communist Warsaw housing complex, who are caught up in difficult moral or ethical dilemmas. Each segment features a largely different cast and can be appreciated on its own; all share subtle cross-references and resonances, giving the work as a whole a tremendous cumulative power. Two parts—Five and Six—were expanded into A Short Film About features and released ahead of Dekalog, foreshadowing the magnum opus to come.

In Polish with English subtitles

Dekalog: One — Thou shalt have no other gods before Me Dekalog: Two — Thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain 115 min.

Dekalog: Three — Thou shalt honour the Sabbath Day Dekalog: Four — Thou shalt honour thy father and thy mother 115 min.

Dekalog: Five — Thou shalt not kill Dekalog: Six — Thou shalt not commit adultery 121 min.

Dekalog: Seven — Thou shalt not steal Dekalog: Eight — Thou shalt not bear false witness 113 min.

Dekalog: Nine — Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife Dekalog: Ten — Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s goods 119 min.

“The best ten hours you will ever spend at the movies … Kieślowski’s epic still towers above the rest, and still seems somehow fuller than any of the similarly ambitious projects that have sprung up in its wake.”

David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“[A] wondrous cinematic event … One of the great films of the century, an overwhelming psychological and spiritual epic.”

Michael Wilmington, Film Comment