Essay on The Decalogue I (1989) (Krzysztof Kieslowski)

Dekalog I might seem to support an extremely simplistic interpretation: that the protagonist Krzysztof (the father) violated the “thou shalt have no other god before me” commandment, and so the filmmaker, or God, gave him his just deserts, killing his son. But, no, I definitely do not believe that the filmmaker, Kieslowski, intends for such a simplistic interpretation. Making specific references to the film, support this last claim, providing a more nuanced view that refutes the simplistic interpretation just given.

For the TA’s benefit, please try to confine your remarks to two pages. Your writing should by well thought out, carefully executed, and nicely typeset. Please remember not to use ragged-right margins, nor any sans-serif or fixed-width font.


Notes. I had thought the film was easily found online, but the YouTube version has been taken down for copyright reasons. I do find a Spanish subtitled version still up on YouTube, and it might be enough to remind you of all the scenes, even if, like me, your Spanish is not so good, and your Polish non-existent.

You do not need to consult any other analyses of Dekalog, but, if you do, make sure to credit it.