The Life You Save—Dekalog: Three (1988)

By Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast ( bio - articles - email ) | Oct 15, 2020 | In Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast

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Krzysztof Kieślowski’s DEKALOG (1988) is a series of 10 short films inspired by the Ten Commandments. With this episode we discuss the third film in the series, which deals with the third commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

When a former mistress arrives at his doorstep on Christmas Eve, seeking help to find her missing husband, Janusz must decide whether to remain at home with his wife and children or else to assist his erstwhile lover in her desperate search. What results is a mystery tale that unfolds almost as a Dickensian odyssey, unearthing layers of discovery that force the two to grapple with ghosts of their past.

Filmmaker Nathan Douglas joins the show once more to discuss this thought-provoking film.

Dekalog can be difficult to find. It can be streamed online with a (relatively cheap and surprisingly legal) subscription to https://easterneuropeanmovies.com—the best viewing experience, however, will be the recent restored edition on Blu-Ray/DVD from Criterion https://www.criterion.com/films/28661-dekalog

Older editions on Blu-Ray and DVD are available for considerably cheaper on Amazon and elsewhere, and you may have luck borrowing Dekalog from your local library.

Next up on Criteria: F.W. Murnau’s Dracula adaptation Nosferatu (1922), found easily on YouTube.

We are also discussing Werner Herzog’s 1979 adaptation, Nosferatu the Vampyre, which was shot both in German and in English. The German version is on Criterion Channel and the English version is on YouTube with ads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOTLurSgkYU

Links

Nathan Douglas, Motet Films https://nwdouglas.com/

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Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/