Decalogue X (1989)

hyped garbage

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

'Dekalog' is a towering achievement and a televisual masterpiece that puts many feature films to shame, also pulling off a concept of great ambition brilliantly. Although a big admirer of Krzysztof Kieślowski (a gifted director taken from us too early), and who has yet to be disappointed by him, to me 'Dekalog' and 'Three Colours: Red' sees him at his best.All of 'Dekalog's' episodes have so many great things, and it is an example of none of the lesser episodes (the weakest being the still very good Episode 8) being bad. This is testament to the high quality of 'Dekalog' as an overall whole and how brilliant the best episodes are. Episode 10 is a magnificent conclusion, it's very different in tone and somewhat of the odd one out in that sense but executes it brilliantly, the slight lack of finality being its only draw-back (but that is so minor it's a non-issue).Every single one of 'Dekalog's' episodes are exceptionally well made. The production values in Episode 10 are as ever atmosphere-enhancing, beautiful and haunting to look at and fascinating. Many of the images are impossible to forget. The direction is quietly unobtrusive, intelligently paced and never too heavy, and the music is suitably intricate.The themes and ideals are used to full potential, and the characters and their relationships and conflicts feel so real and emotionally resonant without being heavy-handed. Despite being based around one of the ten commandments, don't let that put you off, resemblance to religion is relatively scant.Story-wise, Episode 10 is the most comedic (in the dark and sharply satirical sense) and light-hearted, perhaps for some the most accessible. This is something that may feel too different to some, to me the different tone was appreciated because even if the previous nine episodes were thematically richer somewhat and more emotionally powerful Episode 10 is brilliantly entertaining and actually if anybody considers it their favourite it's easy to see why. Even for comedy, the acting still manages to be complex and nuanced while also clearly having fun.Overall, magnificent conclusion. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Set together, these ten experiments and the two extensions, are must viewing. There's a scope and variety, a rhythm that is almost transcendental. If you like Tarkovsky and Wong, you have to see this transitional event.But taken individually, they are pretty uneven. This is not a good one. Sure, it has lots of the values non-cinematic viewers associate with Kieslowski, but which really come from his partner: story knots and drama.But (as these were shot in order), the man was simply worn out by now. In particular, it has stamps (series of stamps), locks, bodily sacrifice, non-human beings, brotherly containment. All these in another Kieslowski project would be elaborated visually.But not here.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Having gotten the videos of the Decalogue one volume at a time over the last 6 months from the Denver Public Library, I have enjoyed an extended appreciation of this towering masterpiece. Kiewslowski created so many moods, characters, settings, and above all, stories that engaged me completely, challenging me to pay attention, to care, and not to assume I knew where the story was going. So many wonderful endings and denouements, some painful, some twisted decidedly upward. #10 is decidedly a comedy. The two brothers, as we get to know them, are led into a sort of avarice and then a love for their late father's stamp collection, which is vastly more valuable than they imagined. Their greatest sin seems to be not growing paranoid over their inheritance, but that they were distant from the father, as well as from each other. I believe that the sin of coveting was committed by the unscrupulous dealer, whom we have reason to sympathize with in the strange (and beautifully conceived) barter that is at the core of this great story. I agree that to end this great decalogue with laughter is brilliant and makes the whole work even more memorable. I just saw this final show yesterday, and now I'm thinking about getting Episodes 1 and 2 again. (A new multi-screen art cinema opened in Denver this spring, and one of their initial bookings was The Decalogue, a week for each pair of films. I should have gone and seen them on the big screen, but they were after all created for television...)

A poor man's Treasure of the Sierra Madre. A black comedy about two hapless brothers who inherit Poland's most valuable stamp collection from a father who sacrificed everything, lived a monastic life, to amass it. (The father, stamps in hand, makes a cameo appearance in VIII.) They, too, are drawn into the erudite greed of philately, ownership for the sake of ownership, to a bad end. Everything rests on the puzzle of the plot, on who can outsmart whom, and how. But the details are sketchy, not thought all the way through, thus, again, resulting in a problem of credibility; the punch line, by the time it arrives, lacks punch, isn't, say, the same as seeing all one's gold dust blow away on the wind. But, of course, there's always color coding to keep one occupied.