The Dekalog

Yesterday, I rewatched two episodes of Kieslowski’s Polish TV miniseries “The Dekalog,” probably for the first time in more than a decade. Originally, I planned to write solely about Episode 9, the one that introduces the fictional composer Van den Budenmeyer. But after rewatching episodes 1 and 9, it became apparent to me that I need to write about the entire series.

The reason is while each episode can and does stand alone (two of them, in fact, were lengthened in theatrical films titled “A Short Film about Killing” and “A Short Film about Love,”) Episode 9 in particular doesn’t make much sense outside the Dekalog context. It’s an odd episode and watching it again, I’m confused why the Van den Budenmeyer reference was included in it at all.

So I’m going to start at the beginning with this one. And it might take a couple days to get comfortable with writing about Episode 1 because it’s emotionally devastating. There’s an edge of sadness throughout the series, but this episode truly plumbs the depths of despair. While I typically write one beat at a time when writing about movies or TV (which equates to roughly 6 minutes of screen time), I might double it up this time just to move through Episode One more quickly. The episode deals with the death of a child and as a father, there’s nothing for me that hits harder.

So, onto the Dekalog. Don’t fear the darkness I’ve foreshadowed, this is one of the greatest pieces of narrative art created in my lifetime, perhaps even the best.