Paul Meredith- Decalogue

The Decalogue portrayed many themes throughout the movie. It provides only experiences, no answers. The answers are left up to the viewer to decide and interpret. This film did an excellent job at using specific methods for portraying reality with a purpose that is relevant to the audience viewing it. The movie used Midrash, which is the interpretation of biblical passages in order to make it relevant to today’s society. Kieslowski did this by using two commandments and connecting them to life situations.

The two commandments used are “Thou shall not kill” and “Thou shall have no Gods before me.” In both scenes the main characters went against the commandments, and they both experience great pain and anguish for that. Both films displayed that man does not have as much control of his life as he thinks he does.

The first Decalogue “Thou shall not kill” is about the boy who killed the taxi driver and how he seems to be fighting with a reasonable amount of guilt over the loss of his sister. His friend accidentally ran over her while they were drinking in the field. The guilt that the brother had could have driven him into a horrible decision that ended up costing him his life in my opinion. Also the Taxi driver who he killed is known to be a horrible person. But does that make murder ok?

The second Decalogue is about the commandment “Thou shall be no God before me.” This is shown through a man and always using his computer to find things. He worshipped his computer. In this case the computer was God to this man. The man revolved his life around knowledge and facts. This computer worked as a symbol to bridge the gap of understanding. The symbol that it represented was a god that the man relied on. This connection is how those who believe in God relate. When they face a problem they turn to God in prayer. This man however when he had a problem he turned to his computer and his knowledge.

 These Decalogue’s explored ethics and values they displayed emotion of hatred, pain, and love. Through these Decalogue’s we are able to see the experiences of these characters and interpret the meaning in our own lives. This is why Decalogue’s have no answers, but leave the answers up to the viewer because everyone has different opinions. 

Marion Lichty: Decalogue

The visual medium of the film worked well as Midrash.  The two short films we watched worked with both remez and darash.  Remez was brought into the film when the viewer searched for a deeper meaning to the film; whereas, darash was brought in when the viewer attempted to compare the situation to his or her own lives.  The two short films forced the audience to deal with the situation portrayed causing him or her to feel the emotional of the film as well.  For example, the first film focused on the first commandment: do not have any other gods.  As the story progressed the audience felt sadness due to the boy’s death.  For me, I did feel sad for the boy, but I was angry with the dad for paying too much attention to his technology and not paying attention to the boy.  The second short film was focusing on the 5^th commandment: thou shall not kill.   The teenager did wrong by killing, but you see the human side of him when he makes the little girl laugh.  Though the audience can see his disrespect for others.  After viewing the films, you definitely get a sense of feelings, where its sadness or pain.  That’s what the audience will focus on.   That is the one thing people can relate too. 

Ben Culotta - Decalogue

      These 2 short films, taken from Kieslowski's the Decalogue, a collection of ten short films that place the 10 commandments in a modern-day, worldly setting, are very in depth and require us as viewers to go beneath the surface in order to uncover their true meaning.  As discussed in class, in order to fully comprehend these films, we as viewers must take into consideration our personal feelings and compare these feelings and thoughts to what the producer is founding these films on.  Thus, these films are examples of “midrash.” The Ten Commandments are to provide the foundation of all law and justification, yet these 2 short films seem to depict these commandments as almost tragic.  What I think Kieslowski sets out to present is not the law itself, but the question of the law and its principles.  The significance of the otherwise routine, daily choices the characters make becomes a fascination in these short films.

      In the first film (Thou shall have no other gods), I was immediately drawn to the young boy Pavel’s exceptional intelligence and also his father’s infatuation with measurements.  One day, when Pavel wants to go skating, the father uses his computer to calculate whether the ice on a local pond is thick enough.  The computer says it's safe, but the boy falls through and drowns.  Even though the meaning is not explicit, I believe the first film acts as a caution to those who follow blindly without any thinking or philosophy.  

      The second film (Though shall not kill), follows a murder, his victim (a taxi driver), and a representative of the law through the random moments in their lives leading up to the act that will bring them all together.  Jacek's (the young murderer’s) act of killing is horrific but so to is the brutal, drawn out way he is executed.  It appears to me that Kieslowski’s message is that no one deserves to die, which is evident in the way he draws out the last scene where Jacek is hung. 

Treven Meyers- Decalogue

I thought these two short films were very interesting and thought provoking.  In class we defined the term midrash as interpreting things through a biblical context or lens.  I think that both of these short films do a great job of taking two of the ten commandments and putting them in real life scenarios that many people can relate to and understand.  These films are a form of midrash because in order to truly understand the movie, viewers have to not only look and question their own thinking but compare their thinking to the commands the producer is basing these movies on.

I thought that the films relate feeling to meaning by causing viewers to become invested and attached to the main characters.  In the first movie, viewers become fascinated with the intellect of the young boy and the life that he seems to bring to everyone around him.  In the second movie, viewers become invested in the young man who is a murderer due to the story he shares about his younger sister who was killed accidentally.  As these feelings progress, I found myself putting meaning behind these feelings.  I felt myself questioning the death penalty and truly seeing it as murder and the ending of a life and not just as "an eye for an eye."  The feelings brought forth caused me, as a viewer, to try and put understanding to the feelings that I was having.  I feel that these films do bridge the ultimate meaning to eternity.  It causes viewers to have an eternal mindset for a period of time and truly value every life and moment that is in front of them.

Patrick Leegan- Random Topic

I really enjoy taking this class because it is making me look at movies in a new light.  I love watching movies but I do not like organized religions and usually try to avoid thinking too deeply into them.  Now, however I am seeing that movies can often portray things that most people might overlook.  I have seen Groundhog Day about 50 times and never once thought much of it... by analyzing it and look at the Profane and Sacred time it makes the movie more entertaining... it has a deeper meaning than just some goofy guy thats stuck in time.  I think now though i may be looking too intensely at movies and maybe trying to pull things out of them that the directors never intended on portraying.  I also think that sometimes its good just just sit back and take a movie for what it is.. not look to deep into  it and just enjoy the basic plot.

Patrick Leegan- Film Blog

Patrick Leegan

Decalogue  Film Blog

I thought that both of these short films were very interesting.  For me they were pretty straight forward. It was not hard for me to see the Commandments in each of the movies.  The first film discussed religion very openly and had subtle symbols of religion.   I myself am not very religious so i could relate to the father in the first film very much which made the movie hit close to home.  I believe that this is what the director wanted... he wanted to invoke emotions from the viewer and try and make the characters as simple as possible, in doing this it is alot easier to relate to the situations.  It would be hard for anyone to watch these films and not feel sad, scared or even anxious.  These movies are also perfect examples of Midrash.. without directly talking about the Commandments the films portray them and make the viewers think about them.  The films do not, however try and make the viewer have a certain opinion on the commandments, instead the viewer has to make his/her own assumptions or opinions on the topics.