Dekalog (The Decalogue) [1988]

Polish master’s Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Dekalog, one of the most staggering masterpieces ever brought to screen, would rank, along with the likes of R. W. Fassbinder’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, among the most ambitious cinematic achievements. Comprising of ten one-hour films made for television, each representing a pronouncement from the Ten Commandments, Dekalog paints intimate, richly layered and thoroughly enriching portraits of Polish society through the microcosm of an apartment block which forms the backdrop for the stories. The series encompasses themes ranging from personal crises, ethical dilemmas and the political history of Poland to even the role of filmmakers, and covers such topics as technology, parent-child complex, infidelity, voyeurism, new found wealth, etc. In fact love, or lack thereof, human loneliness, cosmic conundrums and ironies of everyday life are some of the recurring as well as underlying motifs of the deeply philosophical project. Since Kieslowski was an agnostic himself, religious symbolisms never take the front seat; rather, they are subtly alluded to at most, as the various devastatingly human stories unfold before us. Music forms a vital aspect of the series, and has been used with astounding effect to create and accentuate the moods and tones specific to each parts. Hauntingly beautiful, profoundly moving and brilliantly enacted, Dekalog is cinema of the very highest order. Dekalog 5 & 6 were later expanded into A Short Film About Love and the A Short Film About Killing, respectively.





Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Existential Drama/Romance/Black Comedy/TV Series/Omnibus Film
Language: Polish
Country: Poland

The Double Life of Veronique [1991]

Celebrated Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski’s The Double Life of Veronique is a movie that works at a philosophical, and even, metaphysical level. It tells the tale of duality and spiritual connection between two unrelated individuals – Veronika, a talented Polish girl who unfortunately looses her life while making her debut as a vocalist for a symphony on stage, and Veronique, a French girl who too was a singer but is now working as a music teacher, and who gets mysteriously affected by her Polish counterpart’s death. A sense of deep melancholy and sadness pervades the film, as the director goes about making us feel the kind of cosmic harmony that existed between the two girls prior to Veronika’s untimely death. Nearly every frame of the movie has been created with such exquisite care and is filled with such rapturous beauty, matched only by the delicate and classical beauty of the lead actress, that one is sure to be left mesmerized. Irene Jacob (who would go on to star in the director's Three Colors: Red) played both the roles to near perfection, filling them with fragility and pathos. The film also boasts of a hauntingly evocative score. The film does at times veer towards self-indulgence; further, the abstract and meandering plot, the unabashed poeticism, and the challenging style adopted by Kieslowski, might be off-putting for those uninitiated to arthouse cinema; nonetheless, even when one doesn't comprehend the proceedings, the movie doesn't fail to strike a chord with somewhere deep within.





Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Surreal Drama/Romance/Avante-Garde
Language: Polish/French
Country: Poland

Katyn [2007]

With Katyn, octogenarian Polish master Andrzej Wajda, maker of such legendary movies as Ashes and Diamonds, Man of Marble and Man of Iron, has made a film on a subject that is not just extremely personal to his life, but also which he had to wait a lifetime to bring to light. During the summer of 1940, the Soviet secret police ruthlessly executed, at point blank range, over 15000 Polish army officers (one of whom was the director’s father), and then didn’t just bury their bodies, but also tried burying the event by laying the blame for the massacre on the Nazis. This dark and horrific event that forms an indelible part of Polish history is the subject of this powerful and harrowing war drama from Wajda. The movie begins with the tragic state of the Polish people where one half is fleeing from the Nazis while the other is fleeing from the Soviets, and they meet at halfway point at a state of utter confusion and helplessness. Thus, with the ominous foreboding of World War II as its backdrop, the Katyn massacre is slowly revealed through a few Polish characters directly affected by its occurrence and aftermath, culminating in one of the most terrifying and tragic climaxes that is sure to many viewers shuddering. The movie boasts of spectacular and atmospheric photography, and a moody soundtrack.





Director: Andrzej Wajda
Genre: Drama/War Drama/Docu-Fiction
Language: Polish
Country: Poland

A Short Film About Killing [1987]

An expansion of the fifth episode of his legendary ten-part miniseries Decalogue, Polish master Krzysztof Kieslowski’s A Short Film About Killing is based on the Commandment “Thou Shalt Not Kill”. I have seen my fair share of disconcerting movies, but rarely one as incredibly dark or as immensely disturbing as this one. Like its companion piece A Short Film About Love, the movie's basic premise is simple – a young, mysterious and eerily psychotic drifter , for no apparent reason or provocation, brutally murders a middle-aged cab driver, and thus ends up getting sentenced to death and executed by the Polish state despite a valiant attempt by a young, idealistic and neophyte lawyer. The movie starts off with the shocking and deeply foreboding images of dead rats and a cat hanging by the neck – a brilliant yet subtle indication of the story ahead; thus, by the time we have been introduced to the three main players of the story, we know they are on a collision course (though not necessarily destructive). Kieslowski took a direct stance against capital punishment here. However, one doesn’t really have to endorse his strong socio-political views in order to appreciate the thematic relevance, artistic excellence and technical virtuosity of this powerful movie.





Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Crime Drama
Language: Polish
Country: Poland

A Short Film About Love [1988]

An expansion of the sixth chapter of his legendary Decalogue miniseries, Polish master Krzysztof Kieslowski’s A Short Film About Love, though on paper a cinematic recreation of the Commandment “Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery”, is far more profound than that. It is a poetic and emotionally enthralling exploration of themes ranging from voyeurism and teenage obsession to loneliness and unrequited love. The crisply timed and leisurely paced movie is about a young, shy and mild-mannered postal office worker and closet Peeping Tom, Tomak, who spies on the love life of an older lady, Magda, through his telescope, and has eventually fallen in love with her. His infatuation towards the sexually active and philandering Magda has grown to silent worship. However, his world comes crashing down with devastating repercussions when she lets him know in the most blatant way possible that she believes there’s no such thing as Platonic love – all that really matters is the act of making love. The evocatively photographed and scored movie is as hauntingly beautiful as it is emotionally powerful, despite its beak exterior. The understated psychological depth of the movie (the silent yearning for love in an increasingly cold urban jungle) would later be propelled to stratospheric heights in his masterwork Three Colors.






Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Urban Drama/Romance
Language: Polish
Country: Poland

Ashes and Diamonds [1958]

Polish master Andrzej Wajda’s most famous (and perhaps his finest) film, Ashes and Diamonds was the final chapter in his famed World War II trilogy. The movie, set on the last day of 20^th Century’s most acrimonious war, in one of the worst affected countries – Poland, this is a deeply anti-war movie; it is thought-provoking, but never overtly aggressive. The plot involves a young member of the underground resistance movement being entrusted with the job of carrying out an assassination. But the movie, in essence, focuses on much more – ranging from political confusion and ideological ambiguity in a mission which for outsiders and fanatics was wither black or white, to love and comradeship at times of war. Though the subtitles gave me a lot of trouble (the bit rates of the movie and the subtitles were different, and hence necessitated a lot of adjusting) and didn’t let me have a very fulfilling experience, the Camus-esque existentialism and the strangely affecting performance of the lead actor, posthumously labeled Polish James Dean for his promising career having been cut short by his tragic death, caught my attention nonetheless.





Director: Andrzej Wajda
Genre: Drama/Political Drama/Resistance Film/War Drama
Language: Polish
Country: Poland

Three Colors: Red, White, Blue (Trois Couleurs: Rouge, Blanc, Bleu) [1993, 1994, 1994]

Polish master Krzysztof Kieslowski’s greatest achievement, undoubtedly his magnum opus (along with Decalogue), the Three Colors Trilogy is an astounding episodic journey where each film is based on the theme propounded by the corresponding colour in the French national flag, viz. liberty, equality and fraternity. Blue (Bleu) is a deeply philosophical exploration that portrays the protagonist’s attempt at liberty from her deceased legendary husband’s inescapable presence; White (Blanc) (on a personal note, this being my favourite) is a mordant black comedy and a neo-noir where a divorced and humiliated husband attempts to get even with his former wife; Red (Rouge), often considered the best of the venerable trio, follows the unlikely friendship between a young girl and a retired judge, and their heart-rendering commonality. Evocatively composed, hauntingly photographed, exceedingly well enacted - especially by the three female actors, and passionately directed, the trilogy is a marvelous demonstration of a visionary director at the pinnacle of his artistic and philosophical prowess, and will forever be glowingly referred to as one of cinema’s most profound achievements.






Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Black Comedy/Social Satire/Romantic Drama
Language: French/Polish
Country: Poland/France