Decalogue, one

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Movie
German title Decalogue, one
Original title Decalogue, everyone
Country of production Poland
original language Polish
Publishing year 1989
length 53 minutes
Rod
Director Krzysztof Kieślowski
script Krzysztof Kieślowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz
production Ryszard Chutkowski
music Zbigniew Preisner
camera Wiesław Zdort
cut Ewa Smal
occupation
chronology

Successor  →
Decalogue, Two

Dekalog, Eins is a Polish television film from 1989. As the first part of the Dekalog series by director Krzysztof Kieślowski , the film deals with the first commandment You shouldn't have any other gods besides me .

content

Eleven-year-old Paweł is interested in fundamental questions in life: Why do people die? Is there a soul He receives different answers to his thoughts. Due to the rational view of his father Krzysztof on the one hand and the religious perspective of his sister Irena on the other.

As a scientist, Krzysztof is engaged in the development of "artificial intelligence". He therefore interprets life in the context of rational explanatory models. Irena, on the other hand, opens up the things of existence on the basis of her religiosity. Both respect the other's point of view and let Paweł, who is interested in everything, decide for himself, for example whether he would like to take part in religious education.

When Paweł receives his Christmas present early, he really wants to try out this long-awaited ice skate on the nearby lake. His father calculated the load-bearing capacity of the ice several times. He checks the strength on site and is ultimately certain that the ice cannot break.

Nevertheless, it comes to a catastrophe. Paweł breaks into the ice and dies.

interpretation

Paweł's father seems to be breaking the first commandment (“You shall not have any other gods beside me”). He created a god for himself, so to speak, his computer. But it's not that easy. Although Paweł's father gives science a high priority and tends to trust the computer in every way, he still goes on the ice at night to check its carrying capacity. To that extent he “does not pretend”; he doesn't just trust his computer. So one cannot see Paweł's death as a punishment for his father's arrogance. Kieślowski asks the question about the meaning of what happens (e.g. when the dog dies, from which the conversation between Paweł and his father about death develops) without suggesting a specific answer and without speaking of “guilt”. Neither the father nor the boy are "guilty". Whether one interprets the boy's death as a coincidence, fate or action of God does not change the cruelty of the experience for those involved. It is not because someone is a sinner that they suffer misfortune. The question of God is at the center of the film, posed by a modern society that is perplexed in many ways. Neither Paweł's aunt nor his father, who demonstrates his anger in overturning the altar at the actions of God, has no answer. For Paweł's father, this idea of ​​God is at least a point of reference. Kieślowski asks all people, believers and non-believers: “What does your 'worldview' mean in the face of a dead child? What do you say about it? How do you live with it? "

criticism

“The film unfolds between the poles of computer and altar, science and faith. It's about more than exposing the computer as a false idol and a hard lesson for an unbeliever; The main motive is the question of the recognizability of characters. Questions about God and the meaning of life are not answered by Kieślowski, but they are urgently asked. "

- film service

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