Decalogue II
Encyclopedia
The Decalogue - Two is a second part of a television series The Decalogue
The Decalogue
The Decalogue is a 1989 Polish television drama series directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and co-written by Kieślowski with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, with music by Zbigniew Preisner...

by Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Krzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:...

, connected to the second imperative of the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...

: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."

Plot

The episode focusses on two persons: an elderly doctor (Aleksander Bardini
Aleksander Bardini
Aleksander Bardini was a Polish theatre and opera director, actor, notable professor at the State Theatre School in Warsaw...

), who lives alone in the ubiquitous Dekalog apartment block and works in a local hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

 and Dorota Geller, a violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist with the Philharmonic Orchestra, she is in her 30s (Krystyna Janda), who lives in the same building.

The doctor lost his family during the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and has remained a bachelor ever since, he spends his free time raising plants and birds in his house and telling drops of his life story to his cleaning lady, Barbara.

The doctor meets Dorota coming out of the lift one day, as she is smoking a cigarette by the window. She apparently wants to talk to him, but is not courageous enough at first. The doctor goes out and buys milk and runs across Dorota again, since she has not moved from the spot where they met earlier that morning. She follows the doctor to his apartment and stops by the door where the doctor hears her and opens the door . She asks him if he remembers her - getting a positive answer because she in fact ran over the doctor's dog with her car some years ago. After this unpleasant beginning of conversation, Dorota reveals what she needs an assessment of her husband's condition, who is seriously ill with a disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

 and lies in the hospital. The doctor is reluctant to do so saying that Dorota has to come to the hospital during visiting hours and closes his door. The doctor takes pity on her and asks her to come later that day to the hospital, he asks for Andrzej Geller's file; later that day Dorota comes in and the doctor tells her that he is very ill and that things do not seem well but he also says that in his experience patients with even less chances than him have recovered so his prognosis is very reserved.

Dorota does not give up and visits the doctor at his apartment again. She reveals important information: she is pregnant but not by her husband and it is last chance she could have to get pregnant. She wants to know if Andrzej will live; if he dies, she would carry to term, if he survives, she would abort. The doctor suddenly finds himself in a situation to decide on the life of others, he takes a keen interest in Andrzej's case and conducts many studies. Dorota is having a lot of problems of her own, she goes to the gynecologist
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...

 and schedules an abortion anyway. She also meets with an acquaintance of her lover's, also a musician who is on tour, she receives a passport from her lover and a request to bring some sheets of music along when she will go abroad to him. She also confronts an alpinist
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...

 who is a friend of her husbands that has brought his gear to her, she gets very angry and tells him that Andrzej is still alive and that his gear belongs in the Mountaineering Club, the team shall be leaving for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 probably to climb Mt. Everest.

In an ambiguous scene in a laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...

, the doctor seems to come to the conclusion that Andrzej's disease is progressing (but the scene seems to suggest that Andrzej could be recovering), Dorota tells him that he does not escape liability by his reserved prognosis and that she is going to have an abortion next day, he tells her to stop, Andrzej is dying. She has him swear by it, which he does.

In a typical "Kieślowskiesque" scene, Andrzej opens his eyes and sees a bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...

 miraculously
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...

 swimming out of a glass with strawberries that Dorota had brought to him. Andrzej stands up and goes to the doctor's office, the doctor says that he is surprised (but does not seem to be) that he recovered. Andrzej says that he came back from "beyond
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...

" and is happy to have a baby with Dorota.

Cast

  • Krystyna Janda - Dorota
  • Aleksander Bardini
    Aleksander Bardini
    Aleksander Bardini was a Polish theatre and opera director, actor, notable professor at the State Theatre School in Warsaw...

     - the doctor
  • Olgierd Łukaszewicz
    Olgierd Łukaszewicz
    Olgierd Łukaszewicz is a Polish film actor. He has appeared in over 60 films since his 1969 graduation from the Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts in Kraków...

     - Andrzej
  • Artur Barciś
    Artur Barciś
    Artur Barciś is a Polish actor. He appeared in the television series Aby do świtu... in 1992. and Kieślowski's "Dekalog"-References:...

     - laboratory assistant
  • Stanisław Gawlik
    Stanisław Gawlik (actor)
    Stanisław Gawlik was a Polish actor. He made over 20 appearances in film and television. He starred in the 1978 comedy film What Will You Do When You Catch Me?.-External links:...

     - postman Wacek
  • Krzysztof Kumor - gynaecologist
  • Krystyna Bigelmajer - nurse
  • Karol Dillenius - patient in Andrzej's hospital room
  • Jerzy Fedorowicz
    Jerzy Fedorowicz
    Jerzy Feliks Fedorowicz is a Polish actor, theatre director, poet, politician and member of Sejm ....

    - Janek, friend of Andrzej

  • In other roles:
  • Krystyna Bigelmajer
  • Ewa Ekwinska,
  • Piotr Siejka
  • Aleksander Trąbczyński
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