Dekalog (1988)

Name: Dekalog (1988)
Genre: Drama
Released: March 22, 1996
Duration: 572 min
Rating: 100

1996

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 13 Critic Reviews

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100

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Ratings

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8.0

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8.0	Your Score
8.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Janus Film | Release Date: March 22, 1996 | Not Rated

Summary: This masterwork by Krzysztof Kieślowski is one of the twentieth century’s greatest achievements in visual storytelling. Originally made for Polish television, Dekalog focuses on the residents of a housing complex in late-Communist Poland, whose lives become subtly intertwined as they face emotional dilemmas that are at once deeply personalThis masterwork by Krzysztof Kieślowski is one of the twentieth century’s greatest achievements in visual storytelling. Originally made for Polish television, Dekalog focuses on the residents of a housing complex in late-Communist Poland, whose lives become subtly intertwined as they face emotional dilemmas that are at once deeply personal and universally human. Its ten hour-long films, drawing from the Ten Commandments for thematic inspiration and an overarching structure, grapple deftly with complex moral and existential questions concerning life, death, love, hate, truth, and the passage of time. Shot by nine different cinematographers, with stirring music by Zbigniew Preisner and compelling performances from established and unknown actors alike, Dekalog arrestingly explores the unknowable forces that shape our lives. Also available are the longer theatrical versions of the series’ fifth and sixth films: A Short Film About Killing and A Short Film About Love. [Janus Films]… Expand

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 572 min

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Metascore

100

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Andrew Sarris

You have to see all 10 not because they add up to a coherent whole, but because each is excellent in a distinctive way. I don’t want to go into each of the plots in any detail because one of the joys of Decalogue is its flair for storytelling in the most enjoyable way imaginable. Read full review

100

The Playlist Andrew Crump

The great, unifying success across all ten shorts is Kieślowski’s representation of Poland, which is political, social, and personal all at once. Each movie is its own experiential encounter. Read full review

100

Michael Wilmington

Kieslowski's beautiful, sad and clear-eyed The Decalogue -- an overwhelming psychological and spiritual epic for our times -- faces the darkness, sends out a song against the storm. Read full review

100

Scott Tobias

The Decalogue finds Kieslowski and co-scenarist Krzysztof Piesiewicz turning a delicate cycle of intimate, funny, heartbreaking, and compassionate works into a symphony of human fallibility. Read full review

100

Roger Ebert

They are adults, for the most part outside organized religion, faced with situations in their own lives that require them to make moral choices. You shouldn’t watch the films all at once, but one at a time. Then if you are lucky and have someone to talk with, you discuss them, and learn about yourself. Or if you are alone, you discuss them with yourself, as so many of Kieslowski’s characters do. Read full review

100

Staff [Not Credited]

Being a pessimist at heart, Kieslowski, who cowrote all 10 scripts, unfolds a variety of human weaknesses, shows how difficult it is to conform to one commandment, let alone 10, and considers human frailty with sympathy but little hope. Read full review

100

IndieWire David Ehrlich

For a biblically-scaled film cycle so rich with irony that it seems to be chipping off the walls of the brutalist apartment complex where most of it takes place, perhaps the greatest irony of them all is that Dekalog is ultimately defined by its humility. Read full review

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User Reviews

ItsMahdiyarr

May 1, 2021

The best 10 hours you will spend at movies and this Series.

Ten commandments. 10 episodes. 10 hours. When it first aired on Polish television in 1989, decades before long-form filmmaking would come to be regarded as the last bastion of auteurism, Krzysztof Kieślowski’s “Dekalog” was one ofThe best 10 hours you will spend at movies and this Series.

Ten commandments. 10 episodes. 10 hours. When it first aired on Polish television in 1989, decades before long-form filmmaking would come to be regarded as the last bastion of auteurism, Krzysztof Kieślowski’s “Dekalog” was one of the most immense undertakings the cinema had ever seen. There had been longer works, and more lavishly financed ones — even when accounting for inflation, “Dekalog” would qualify as a micro-budget project — but the existential girth of Kieślowski’s magnum opus immediately made it feel like a monolith among molehills.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

BeastJ18

Aug 4, 2019

The greatest series of short films ever made, by one of the masters of cinema and almost certainly the greatest director of the 90s. An exploration into characters with intense moral and ethical dilemmas, that allows one to reflect on the intricacies and nuances of the human spirit. DekalogThe greatest series of short films ever made, by one of the masters of cinema and almost certainly the greatest director of the 90s. An exploration into characters with intense moral and ethical dilemmas, that allows one to reflect on the intricacies and nuances of the human spirit. Dekalog is considered one of the most acclaimed and important works of art in recent history, yet I believe it deserves further adoration. This is extraordinary filmmaking, 10 of the best films you will ever watch.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Andremax

Dec 5, 2019

Touching and human, Dekalog is a trip inside morality and common people's dilemes. Doesn't matter social class, culture or context, it's hard not to indentificate yourself or at least feel dismayed or thinkfull and for that reason, series is timeless too.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

chrisplease662

Jan 23, 2023

A long watch that can feel daunting and quite difficult to get through, but it's worth it.,

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

thelol

Apr 26, 2018

Krzysztof Kieslowski's "The Decalogue" is one of the most powerful cinematic experiences you'll ever have, and probably the best ensemble cast I've ever seen (if you consider them a single film, like I do). I used to think Mike Nichols, Ingmar Bergman and Robert Altman were the supremeKrzysztof Kieslowski's "The Decalogue" is one of the most powerful cinematic experiences you'll ever have, and probably the best ensemble cast I've ever seen (if you consider them a single film, like I do). I used to think Mike Nichols, Ingmar Bergman and Robert Altman were the supreme actor's directors, but I might consider Kieslowski (1941-1996) my #1 for this project alone. It helps that all the actors are unknown to most of us and not famous Hollywood stars, and that makes the experience even more real, but that wouldn't be much if they couldn't act. I had seen Kieslowski's "Three Colors" (which happens to be my all-time favourite trilogy), but I didn't think of him as a particular actor's director because Juliette Binoche or Julie Delpy don't necessarily need a great director to deliver a great performance (I'm not sure about Irène Jacob, though; I haven't seen "The Double Life of Veronique", in which she's supposed to be brilliant, and I do like her in "Red", but she never impressed me in any movie not directed by Kieslowski). Adrianna Bierdzynska (who looks like a cross between Jennifer Jason Leigh and Hilary Swank) and Olaf Lubaszenko, from segments 4 and 6, respectively, stand out; they're more Oscar-worthy than 90% of the nominees of the past decade; but every member of the cast did a terrific job. Stanley Kubrick described "The Decalogue" as the only masterpiece he could name in his lifetime - if that doesn't make you curious to watch this poignant, unique experience, then you're not a film lover. 10 out of 10 in my books.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

benchwarmer

Mar 21, 2019

Not only is this one of the greatest tv series ever produced, it's also one of the finest works of art from the 20th Century.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

amheretojudge

Jun 18, 2019

Commandments rehashed in city lights, they might hold up, might not but Dekalog's quality surely will test against time.

Dekalog Krzystof Kieslowski; the co-writer and director, of this phenomenal ten part series, which is often claimed to be as ten hour long film, is a testament inCommandments rehashed in city lights, they might hold up, might not but Dekalog's quality surely will test against time.

Dekalog

Krzystof Kieslowski; the co-writer and director, of this phenomenal ten part series, which is often claimed to be as ten hour long film, is a testament in itself, to filmmaking, storytelling and, art that drives all. With the crowd pleasing concept, the writers, Krzystof Kieslowski and Krzystof Piesiewicz, are actually enjoying. That's quite a shock, isn't it? The concepts are established, the theme well introduced, the cinematography almost like some painting, the metaphors spread across like elements and the characters staged with a spectacular choreography. What more is left, they wondered. And fun, is the answer they came up with.

Take each of the chapters individually and you'll see for a brief period everyone is let loose in their own rhythm. The cars zooming, couple laughing, mother discovering her son or daughter, friends tearing up, brother spiralling plan and a boy dancing after getting an approval from her crush. What a release it is, speechless, to see such calculated tales feeling no obligation, breaking their rules, for that one smile of the day. Another fine quality and major theme of these films is the physical sequences.

He wants you to scratch your brain, Kieslowski, when the physical acts are on the run. What is that urge that he gives birth to, that we feel compelled, almost insisting, on finishing that puzzle. No matter how carefree your attitude is, if someone is being chased or chasing, you would be mesmerized until they leave the frame. The spectators are too hovering around in these films, a particular one that can be seen in every chapter except for the last one, can often be considered as the perspective through which the germ of the idea that these creators had before magnifying these stories on screen. Now, as you can see, Dekalog is timeless not because of the hard work, but because of how much they loved working hard on it, they had fun as much as you had, I'd say that's a balanced world.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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