Saw Decalogue I a few days ago. It's the first of a ten-part series where each part deal with one of the ten commandments. Since I'm treating each 'episode' as a film I'm reviewing them separately. Alright, to business.
This first episode was the 'I am the lord your god' episode and therefore featured some hubris of man being humbled by forces beyond his control. The humbled protagonist is a computer-wiz/linguistics expert who I at first understood to symbolize Science as a whole (which understanding I believe now to be mercifully mistaken.) His sister is a religious woman with no other role than to be religious. I found it interesting that the two were not played as being in opposition to each other. They peacefully disagree about spiritual matters, but neither of them let this aspect of their lives dominate their relationship.
The film is shot in a chilly, distant way. Opportunities for cheap sentiment are wisely missed. There were also some images that were genius, such as the frozen holy-water at the end and the 'crying' painting of Mary. I thought it was fascinating. A strong start to the series.
I will hope for further reviews and perhaps a comment on the whole at the end.
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