Dekalog 7 + 8

Krzysztof Kieślowski: Dekalog 7 + 8

Seventh and eighth parts of Kieslowski’s monumental TV seriesDekalog, about the Ten Commandments. In the seventh part, a woman kidnaps her own daughter. In the eighth part, a professor of ethics has to justify a dramatic decision taken decades ago.

In all episodes of theDekalog series, the characters become entangled by chance in circumstances that hold them hostage. Their lives are pale – the ten episodes are set amongst the grey concrete of a typical Polish suburb – and so is their future: higher powers seem to hold them in their grasp; any sense of ethics is present only in the background.

Kieslowski screened the series in its entirety at the Venice film festival (1989). An incredible achievement, especially during the turbulent times following the fall of the Berlin Wall, when Communist leaders were being forced to allow free elections.

Programme

Dekalog 7
After a mother kidnaps her own child, it turns out she is unable emotionally to bear the responsibility as the stable, loving family who were raising the child became seriously concerned. But the clearer the complex family relations become, the more ethical dilemmas arise.
Dekalog 8
A Polish-American scientist attends a lecture in Warsaw on ethics. She then approaches Zofia, who gave the lecture. She tells her that she is the little Jewish girl who Zofia didn’t hide during World War II. But Zofia has a very good explanation for her so-called cowardice back then.

This is part of

De films van Kieślowski

Special screenings

Dekalog 3 + 4

Dekalog 5 + 6

Dekalog 9 + 10

Director

Krzysztof Kieślowski

Production year

1988

Length

110 min.

Country

Language

Polish

Subtitles

English

Part of

De films van Kieślowski

Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski broke through internationally with his ten-part series Dekalog, which examined the meaning of the Ten Commandments for modern humans.

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