Decalogue V
Encyclopedia
The Decalogue - V is a fifth part of the television series The Decalogue
by Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski
, connected to the fifth imperative of the Ten Commandments
: Thou shalt not kill.
A brutal and seemingly motiveless murder
brings together a young drifter Jacek (Mirosław Baka), a taxi driver (Jan Tesarz), and an idealistic lawyer Piotr (Krzysztof Globisz). This is the only one of the films with an explicit political stance, reflecting Kieślowski's opposition to the death penalty. An expanded 84 minutes cinema version of this episode was released as Krótki film o zabijaniu (A Short Film About Killing
).
and has apparently nothing to do he keeps asking about a taxi stand but the first one he finds is very busy. Waldemar Rekowski, a middle-aged taxicab driver (Jan Tesarz), overweight, cruel-looking, he lives in the Dekalog apartment block. He enjoys the freedom of his profession, a living wage and the power to ignore people whom he does not want to take into his taxi and ogling young ladies.
Jacek makes dirty jokes on people like throwing a stranger who intended to hit on him into the urinals on a public toilet, dropping stones from a bridge on to passing vehicles, causing an accident there or shooing pigeons, which an old woman wants to feed. He has a photograph of a little girl blown up
and then goes to a cafe. The taxi driver wanders around the city looking for a fare. Jacek keeps a length of rope
in his bag and a stick; he wraps a bit of rope around his hand but stops when he spots two girls playing at the other side of the window at the cafe and he engages in a game with them. He then goes to a taxi stop and jumps into a taxi. Jacek asks to be driven to a part of the city near the countryside. Jacek kills the driver using the rope, but he is not successful and has to finish his killing using a big stone. He then takes the taxi to the river and prepares to dump the body. Jacek turns on the radio and a children's song can be heard, which clearly upsets him.
Jacek is imprisoned and talking to his lawyer Piotr, for whom this is a first case after he has finished his studies. There is neither much evidence nor motive for this murder, Piotr has no chance defending his young client although he is told that his arguments and legal strategy were rather convincing the outcome could not have been any different. Jacek gets the death penalty and will be hanged. Before the time of execution Jacek reveals that his baby sister died in an accident caused by a truck that his friend had been driving under the influence
and he never recovered from this, he asks to be buried next to her and the blown up photo given to his mother.
The execution time has come, Jacek is held by at least six policemen on the way to his execution, chained by hands and legs. The judgment itself is performed with no less coldness than the act committed by Jacek.
Artur Barciś
, Krystyna Janda, Olgierd Lukaszewicz
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 fifth 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 kill.
A brutal and seemingly motiveless murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
brings together a young drifter Jacek (Mirosław Baka), a taxi driver (Jan Tesarz), and an idealistic lawyer Piotr (Krzysztof Globisz). This is the only one of the films with an explicit political stance, reflecting Kieślowski's opposition to the death penalty. An expanded 84 minutes cinema version of this episode was released as Krótki film o zabijaniu (A Short Film About Killing
A Short Film About Killing
A Short Film About Killing is a 1988 film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski expanded from the fifth episode in the Polish television series Dekalog...
).
Plot
The film begins with Piotr Balicki (Krzysztof Globisz), a young and idealistic lawyer who is about to take the bar exam. Jacek Łazar (Miroslaw Baka) is a 21 year-old man, coming from the countryside. He wanders the streets of WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and has apparently nothing to do he keeps asking about a taxi stand but the first one he finds is very busy. Waldemar Rekowski, a middle-aged taxicab driver (Jan Tesarz), overweight, cruel-looking, he lives in the Dekalog apartment block. He enjoys the freedom of his profession, a living wage and the power to ignore people whom he does not want to take into his taxi and ogling young ladies.
Jacek makes dirty jokes on people like throwing a stranger who intended to hit on him into the urinals on a public toilet, dropping stones from a bridge on to passing vehicles, causing an accident there or shooing pigeons, which an old woman wants to feed. He has a photograph of a little girl blown up
Enlarger
An enlarger is a specialized transparency projector used to produce photographic prints from film or glass negatives using the gelatin silver process, or from transparencies.-Construction:...
and then goes to a cafe. The taxi driver wanders around the city looking for a fare. Jacek keeps a length of rope
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
in his bag and a stick; he wraps a bit of rope around his hand but stops when he spots two girls playing at the other side of the window at the cafe and he engages in a game with them. He then goes to a taxi stop and jumps into a taxi. Jacek asks to be driven to a part of the city near the countryside. Jacek kills the driver using the rope, but he is not successful and has to finish his killing using a big stone. He then takes the taxi to the river and prepares to dump the body. Jacek turns on the radio and a children's song can be heard, which clearly upsets him.
Jacek is imprisoned and talking to his lawyer Piotr, for whom this is a first case after he has finished his studies. There is neither much evidence nor motive for this murder, Piotr has no chance defending his young client although he is told that his arguments and legal strategy were rather convincing the outcome could not have been any different. Jacek gets the death penalty and will be hanged. Before the time of execution Jacek reveals that his baby sister died in an accident caused by a truck that his friend had been driving under the influence
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
and he never recovered from this, he asks to be buried next to her and the blown up photo given to his mother.
The execution time has come, Jacek is held by at least six policemen on the way to his execution, chained by hands and legs. The judgment itself is performed with no less coldness than the act committed by Jacek.
Cast
- Mirosław BakaMirosław BakaMirosław Baka is a Polish actor. He appeared in the comedy television series Bao-Bab, czyli zielono mi in 2003.-References:...
- Jacek - Krzysztof GlobiszKrzysztof GlobiszKrzysztof Globisz is a Polish theatre and film actor. His best known role is as Piotr Balicki, the newly qualified barrister whose opinion of capital punishment undergoes a radical change in A Short Film About Killing directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski.-External links:...
- Piotr - Jan Tesarz - taxi driver
- Zbigniew ZapasiewiczZbigniew ZapasiewiczZbigniew Zapasiewicz was one of the most prominent post-war Polish actors, as well as a theatre director and pedagogue.- Biography :...
- police inspector - Barbara Dziekan-Wajda - cashier
- In other roles
- Aleksander Bednarz, Jerzy Zass, Zdzisław Tobiasz,
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:...
, Krystyna Janda, Olgierd Lukaszewicz
Cast notes
- From actors, who appeared in other episodes, we can briefly see the pair from Decalogue II, Krystyna Janda (Dorota) and Olgierd Lukaszewicz (Andrzej)