Elżbieta Helman

The Ten Commandments, exact and uncompromising, literally cast in stone, continues to provide a source of moral conflict in contemporary society. In the ten part collection of films, The Decalogue, Krzysztof Kieślowski examines the dilemma of fundamental sin in the lives of ordinary Warsaw citizens.

Jacek, an angry drifter, murders a taxi driver, brutally and without motive. His case is assigned to Piotr, an idealistic young lawyer who is morally opposed to the death penalty, and their interactions take on an emotional honesty that throws into stark relief for Piotr the injustice of killing of any kind.

Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.

A chilling tale about kids playing in a bombed-out Warsaw courtyard on the day of Stalin's death, while their parents are away at the church or a memorial procession.

The Borejko family has four daughters — Gabriela, Ida, Natalia and Patricia. Most concern causes the red-haired Ida, whose unusual ideas often end badly, though the girl has the best intentions. Her father, who works at the university as a classical philologist, gives her the idea to found a group called ESD. They want to try out the theory that you are more successful if you send out more positive signals to the environment. Soon this theory will be put to the test. Ida's mother has to go to the hospital and the entire burden of household chores falls on the children.

The Ten Commandments, exact and uncompromising, literally cast in stone, continues to provide a source of moral conflict in contemporary society. In the ten part collection of films, The Decalogue, Krzysztof Kieślowski examines the dilemma of fundamental sin in the lives of ordinary Warsaw citizens.