Dekalog 2

Despite passing away at the all-too-young age of 54, Krzysztof Kieślowski invoked a sense of humanity that even today’s greatest directors might need a lifetime to achieve. What would be his defining masterwork (if he didn’t make a number of films that could also easily fall under the definition), the 10-part Dekalog, has been restored thanks to Janus Films. Ahead of a Criterion release in late September, they will be giving it a tour around the country.

Along with a list of playdates, they’ve also released a new trailer, which gives us a glimpse at the beautiful digital restoration that occurred, as based on the original 35mm negatives. As someone who recently caught up on the films in a cruder transfer a few years back, yet was still struck by the acute drama on display in each part, this new restoration is among my most-anticipated events of the fall.

Check out the preview below, along with the synopsis, playdates, and new images:

This masterwork by Krzysztof Kieślowski is one of the twentieth century’s greatest achievements in visual storytelling. Originally made for Polish television, Dekalog focuses on the residents of a housing complex in late-Communist Poland, whose lives become subtly intertwined as they face emotional dilemmas that are at once deeply personal and universally human. Its ten hour-long films, drawing from the Ten Commandments for thematic inspiration and an overarching structure, grapple deftly with complex moral and existential questions concerning life, death, love, hate, truth, and the passage of time. Shot by nine different cinematographers, with stirring music by Zbigniew Preisner and compelling performances from established and unknown actors alike, Dekalog arrestingly explores the unknowable forces that shape our lives. Also available are the longer theatrical versions of the series’ fifth and sixth films: A Short Film About Killing and A Short Film About Love.

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Playdates

9/1/2016 Cleveland, OH Cleveland Cinematheque
9/2/2016 NY CIFC Center
9/2/2016 Montreal, QC Cinema du Parc
9/5/2016 Vancouver, BC Pacific Cinematheque
9/9/2016 San Francisco, CA Alamo Drafthouse New Mission
9/9/2016 San Rafael, CA Smith Rafael Film Center
9/16/2016 Coral Gables, FL Coral Gables Art Cinema
9/17/2016 Los Angeles, CA Cinefamily
9/29/2016 Rochester, NY George Eastman House
9/23/2016 Pleasantville, NY Jacob Burns Film Center
9/22/2016 Austin, TX Austin Film Society
10/14/2016 Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Dekalog 1

DEKALOG: ONE
Krzysztof, a semantics professor and computer hobbyist, is raising his young son, Paweł, to look to science for answers, while Irena, Paweł’s aunt, lives a life rooted in faith. Over the course of one day, both adults are forced to question their belief systems.

Poland * 1988 * 56 minutes * Color * In Polish with English subtitles * 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Screening format: DCP

DEKALOG: TWO
Dorota is in love with two men: her gravely ill husband, Andrzej, and a fellow musician who is the father of her unborn child. Andrzej’s doctor, himself no stranger to loss, is Dorota’s downstairs neighbor; she implores him to swear to a prognosis for her husband, and in doing so puts a very serious decision into his hands.

Poland * 1988 * 59 minutes * Color * In Polish with English subtitles * 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Screening format: DCP

DEKALOG: THREE
It’s Christmas Eve, and Ewa has plotted to pass the hours until morning with her former lover Janusz, a family man, by making him believe her husband has gone missing. During this night of recklessness and lies, the pair grapple with choices made three years ago, when their affair was discovered, and with the value of their present lives.

Poland * 1988 * 58 minutes * Color * In Polish with English subtitles * 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Screening format: DCP

DEKALOG: FOUR
A father and daughter, Michal and Anka, have a unique intimacy, which the college-aged Anka is beginning to feel conflicted about. When she finds an unopened letter from her deceased mother, it seems to justify her attraction to Michal, who may not in fact be her father.

Poland * 1988 * 57 minutes * Color * In Polish with English subtitles * 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Screening format: DCP

DEKALOG: FIVE
Jacek, an angry drifter, murders a taxi driver, brutally and without motive. His case is assigned to Piotr, an idealistic young lawyer who is morally opposed to the death penalty, and their interactions take on an emotional honesty that throws into stark relief for Piotr the injustice of killing of any kind.

Poland * 1988 * 60 minutes * Color * In Polish with English subtitles * 1.70:1 aspect ratio. Screening format: DCP

DEKALOG: SIX
A teenage postal worker, Tomek, routinely spies on his older neighbor Magda, a sexually liberated artist who lives in the apartment across the courtyard from his. As their private worlds merge, fascination turns to obsession, and the line between love and curiosity becomes violently blurred.

Poland * 1988 * 62 minutes * Color * In Polish with English subtitles * 1.70:1 aspect ratio. Screening format: DCP

DEKALOG: SEVEN
As a high school student, Majka bore a child, Ania, whom Majka’s mother, Ewa, has been raising as her own. Now that Majka is ready for motherhood, Ewa refuses to let go, leading Majka to kidnap her own daughter, with unexpected emotional consequences.

Poland * 1988 * 57 minutes * Color * In Polish with English subtitles * 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Screening format: DCP

DEKALOG: EIGHT
Zofia, a professor of ethics, is visited by Elzbieta an American researching the fate of Jews who survived World War II. A daytime classroom conversation turns into a night of confrontation, and Zofia is forced to answer for a decision she made decades ago that directly affected the course of Elzbieta’s life.

Poland * 1988 * 56 minutes * Color * In Polish with English subtitles * 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Screening format: DCP

DEKALOG: NINE
Roman and Hanka have a loving marriage, but his impotence has led to her having an affair. The unbearable situation drives Roman to extreme measures both physically and mentally, testing their love and his own will to live.

Poland * 1988 * 60 minutes * Color * In Polish with English subtitles * 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Screening format: DCP

DEKALOG: TEN
Jerzy and Artur’s father dies, leaving behind a valuable stamp collection, which, they discover, is coveted by dealers of varying degrees of shadiness. The more involved the brothers get in their father’s world, the more dire and comical their situation becomes.

Poland * 1988 * 59 minutes * Color * In Polish with English subtitles * 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Screening format: DCP

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Dekalog 5

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Dekalog

Not playing near you? Dekalog is now available to pre-order on The Criterion Collection ahead of a September 27th release.

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