Dekalog - The Ten Commandments - Parts 6-10 Reviews

Grim

10 short (56min) films by one of my fav directors, with beautiful scores, each film explores one of the ten commandments.

You would really have to be a fan or be in the mood for these gritty and grim films but if you have seen his other work then you should watch these, they are nice to dip in and out.

They also remind how much we have to be thankful for and what a depressing place Poland must have been in the early eighties.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Profound and moving

While I agree with the poster who suggested that watching these films back to back can become an enervating experience - there's a basic template to episodes 6, 7 and 8 which Kieslowki and Piesiewicz don't really deviate from - the cumulative experience is awesome.

Starting each with an apparent conflict, connected to the commandment in question, the makers bring about tentative, unexpected resolutions, each of which end on a lingering gaze. The result is close to transcendent and certainly very beautiful.

Only in the last two, do the director and his co-writer attempt something different. 'Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife' is an extraordinary piece of work - probably the best of the ten - a terrifically moving tribute to love - the real subject of the whole thing; and finally, in a battle over a stamp collection (did Fabian Bielinsky see this before making 'Nueve Reinas'?), two apparently different brothers discover that family is far more important than possessions.

Persuasive, meditative, gorgeous film-making which is a consistent privilege to watch.

Dekalog

Very few directors have portrayed the human condition more sensitively and honestly than Kieslowski in this series. The characters in this Warsaw block of flats could be our own neighbours, perhaps even ourselves. Without exception the end of these ten stories leaves one deeply in thought.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Critically acclaimed - How?

This movie is not for general consumption.

Watch at your own risk.

'Dekalog - The Ten Commandments - Parts 6-10' (1988)

I prefer the Orginal Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston Sorry! But each to his own...............

Deka out of Deka

This is what good film making is all about in my book. Stories that draw you in, characters you can identify with, tales that are deeply thought-provoking.

Based on The Ten Commandments in the bible (don't worry, the films are in no way 'religious'), these 10 hour-long films - there's 5 on each set of two disks - all have a tale to tell. They are not moralistic, they are not judgemental, and they do not preach to the viewer, but they are variously disturbing, touching, funny... and always thought-provoking.

I first saw these films years ago on BBC2 and was mesmerised by them. Nearly 20 years on they are as relevent today as they were then.

Dekalog spawned two feature-length off-shoots that you may like to try to whet your appetite: A short film about Love, and A short film about Killing.

I can't recommend Dekalog highly enough. Just add the DVDs to your rental list!

Amazing

I found watching all of the Dekalogs a bit of a labourous task, and towards the end I got a bit bored. However I am glad I stuck till the end as the last two episodes were absolutely amazing. Great script, acting and directing. If only the rest were more like these two.

Dekalog The Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments contain some of the best work I have seen in years. Thought provoking and sensitive writing and acting. Direction wonderful. Would recommend. Pity there wasn't more work like this. Subtitles did not distract in any way. It was interesting to work out which commandment the film related to and I was totally inspired especially by Love Thy Neighbour. Wonderful. J.

dekalog

absolutely dreary & depressing

A Polish Way of Life

These continue with the theme of the first disc and are equally good. Each of the episodes stand alone.

All are thought provoking & show the way a lot of Poles lived during the Russian Occupation