Dekalog X

Saw Dekalog X, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods. YEAH! Last one!! Woo! Okay, here we go:
This one was about two brothers who discover a gold-mine of rare stamps in their recently-deceased father's apartment. They try to find out how much the stamps are worth and quickly begin hearing amounts in the millions and hundred-thousands casually tossed around. They are soon however dourly reprimanded for even thinking of selling the life's work of their father, and find that the world of high-priced stamp collecting is a (kind of hilariously) cut-throat one. Their windfall is discovered by a deeply unsavory stamp-dealer. Unsettled by his intent interest, the brothers invest in bars on the windows and a colossal black dog. It is darkly hinted that their home-lives are deteriorating as they become more and more consumed by a sort of miserly greed. They even enter into their dead father's passion, reading his notes and seeking out rare specimens. It is of course only a matter of time until they turn on each other, Sierra Madre-style, but in characteristic Dekalog fashion, when this happens it's somehow, curiously, the brothers' most sympathetic moment. Instead of primly shaking our heads at their greed, we are left understanding their sad, sweaty, desperation.

The commandment's influence on the plot is clear: the brothers' lives are kind of destroyed when they enter into this fetishistic consumer-culture, hungrily eying their father's treasures. Their brotherly friendship is even threatened by this greed. Further trouble comes from the avarice of the stamp-dealer. So don't covet, okay? The ending (no spoiler) is uplifting however, and genuinely sweet. A rock song takes us out on a high note, but a complex, bitter-sweet kind of punk-y high note. Not totally happy, and not unhappy. A perfect book-end to the series.