Decalogue: Two, The (1989)
*** (out of 4)
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" is the focus of this second film in Kieslowski's series. A woman (Krystyna Janda) is going through the torment of not knowing whether or not her husband will die from his illness so she asks his doctor (Aleksander Bardini) to give her an answer. The doctor can't really say for certain but then he learns that the woman is pregnant with another man's baby. If her husband will die she will keep the kid but if he's going to live then she must have an abortion. As with the first film, this one here features some terrific acting, great direction and a wonderful look but I think the level of entertainment is a tad bit less because to the story really didn't hit me as hard as it should have. I'm not really sure what this film has to do with the original subject from the Bible but I'm sure some might see some sort of linking between the two. As for me, I found the attempt to bring the two sides together here didn't really work and I thought trying to link them was a mistake. Of course, everyone is going to see or feel something different about religion so just because these links didn't work for me doesn't mean others won't find something here. Another problem I had was that I really didn't care or feel too much for the woman going through this problem. The fact that she cheated on her husband, a sin, isn't ever really brought up nor is the possible abortion. WIth that said, the visual look of the film is extremely well done and there's no denying that the director has created a very good piece of work. The material, no matter what you feel towards it, is very well handled and is an original take on the whole idea of religion. Bardini clearly steals the film with his sad character who might be stepping over his lines due to the own pain he has suffered. Artur Barcis returns to this film playing a mysterious figure and once again does a great job.
*** (out of 4)
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" is the focus of this second film in Kieslowski's series. A woman (Krystyna Janda) is going through the torment of not knowing whether or not her husband will die from his illness so she asks his doctor (Aleksander Bardini) to give her an answer. The doctor can't really say for certain but then he learns that the woman is pregnant with another man's baby. If her husband will die she will keep the kid but if he's going to live then she must have an abortion. As with the first film, this one here features some terrific acting, great direction and a wonderful look but I think the level of entertainment is a tad bit less because to the story really didn't hit me as hard as it should have. I'm not really sure what this film has to do with the original subject from the Bible but I'm sure some might see some sort of linking between the two. As for me, I found the attempt to bring the two sides together here didn't really work and I thought trying to link them was a mistake. Of course, everyone is going to see or feel something different about religion so just because these links didn't work for me doesn't mean others won't find something here. Another problem I had was that I really didn't care or feel too much for the woman going through this problem. The fact that she cheated on her husband, a sin, isn't ever really brought up nor is the possible abortion. WIth that said, the visual look of the film is extremely well done and there's no denying that the director has created a very good piece of work. The material, no matter what you feel towards it, is very well handled and is an original take on the whole idea of religion. Bardini clearly steals the film with his sad character who might be stepping over his lines due to the own pain he has suffered. Artur Barcis returns to this film playing a mysterious figure and once again does a great job.