Decalogue II
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''Dekalog: Two'' () is the second part of ''
Dekalog ''Dekalog'' (, also known as ''Dekalog: The Ten Commandments'' and ''The Decalogue'') is a 1989 Polish drama television miniseries directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and co-written by Kieślowski with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, with music by Zbigni ...
'', the drama series of films directed by Polish director
Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (, 27 June 1941 – 14 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for ''Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the Three Colours trilogy, ''Three Colours'' ...
for
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
, connected to the second imperative of the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...
: "''Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.''" Dorota Geller, a married woman, faces a dilemma involving her sick husband's prognosis. Her husband's doctor, who believes in God, is made to swear by his prognosis, but gets it wrong.


Plot

The episode focuses on two people: an elderly hospital doctor (
Aleksander Bardini Aleksander Bardini (17 November 1913 – 30 July 1995) was a Polish theatre and opera director, actor, notable professor at the State Theatre School in Warsaw. He appeared in 30 films between 1937 and 1994. Selected filmography * '' Long Is the ...
), who lives by himself in the ubiquitous Dekalog apartment block; and Dorota Geller (
Krystyna Janda Krystyna Jolanta Janda (; born 18 December 1952) is a Polish film and theatre actress, director, and singer. She is best known internationally for playing leading roles in several films by Polish film director Andrzej Wajda, including '' Man of ...
), a woman in her 30s who lives in the same building and is a
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
ist with the
Philharmonic Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...
. The doctor spends his free time raising plants and birds in his house. He tells bits of his life to his cleaning lady, Barbara, in the form of episodes ending with "to be continued": an adult losing his tooth, a child growing a tooth, how he lost his whole family during the war. The doctor meets Dorota as he is entering the elevator one morning, as she smokes a cigarette in the hallway looking out of the window. He greets her while she merely nods. She apparently wants to talk to him, but is not courageous enough at first. The doctor returns from buying milk and runs across Dorota again, since she has not moved from the spot where they met earlier. She remains silent and walks to his apartment door only after he has shut the door behind him. He opens and she still does not speak to him. He finally says: "You want something from me". She replies "Yes. You probably remember me. I live in the penthouse". He confirms that he remembers her, because she ran over his dog with her car two years earlier. Dorota finally introduces herself and reveals that she urgently wants a
prognosis Prognosis ( Greek: πρόγνωσις "fore-knowing, foreseeing"; : prognoses) is a medical term for predicting the likelihood or expected development of a disease, including whether the signs and symptoms will improve or worsen (and how quickly) ...
of the condition of her husband, who is seriously ill in hospital. The doctor replies firmly but courteously that his visiting hours are not until the day after next. She replies, "I am sorry that I did not run over you" and walks away. Later that day he meets her again still smoking in the same spot and asks her if a dead hare which the concierge found earlier is hers, which she denies. He then takes pity on her and asks her to come to the hospital that afternoon. There he asks for Andrzej Geller's file and sees Dorota sitting at the bedside helplessly. She has brought preserved strawberries. After seeing Andrzej in his weakened state, she decides to keep them, but Andrzej's previously silent and seemingly unconscious roommate says that Andrzej might eat them later. She leaves and says goodbye to the roommate, but not to her husband. Dorota waits in front of the doctor's office. The doctor tells her that Andrzej is very ill and that things are not looking good, but he also says that in his experience patients with even less chance than him have recovered, so his prognosis is guarded. She angrily says that "I must know..." but is interrupted and deflected by the doctor. At the end of the day Dorota follows the doctor to his home in her car. When he opens his door, she enters and smokes without asking permission, using her matchbox as an ashtray and causing a flame when extinguishing the cigarette. She reveals that she is 3 months pregnant, but not by her husband, and that this is her last chance of having a child. She insists one can love two individuals romantically at the same time. She wants to know if Andrzej will live. She has decided that if he dies, she will carry the child to term - if he survives, she will abort it. At her home, a friend of her husband comes to return Andrzej's
mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...
gear. She angrily tells him that Andrzej is still alive and that his gear belongs in the mountaineering club. The team will be leaving for India. The next day Dorota goes to the
gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...
and schedules an abortion in two days. She meets with an acquaintance of her lover's, who is a pianist on tour. Her lover has requested she bring the musical scores he has left on his piano when she joins him abroad. At night her lover calls and she tells him she will abort their child. He says he wants to be with her and does not understand her. The next day in the hospital's
medical laboratory A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are conducted out on clinical specimens to obtain information about the health of a patient to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Clinical medical labor ...
, the doctor reviews three tissue samples under a microscope. He asks a medical
resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceut ...
for his opinion, and he starts "You have always taught us...", which the doctor interrupts, saying "Never mind that." A laboratory assistant/hospital
orderly In healthcare, an orderly (also known as a ward assistant, nurse assistant or healthcare assistant) is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and nursing staff with various nursing and medical interventions. These duties a ...
looks sternly on. The resident then says "progression." When Dorota returns to the hospital ward she sees a corpse being rolled out and, upon entering, realizes it is not Andrzej but the roommate who appeared healthier than him the day before. She approaches her husband, who looks very weak, declares her love and touches him for the first time in the film; the lab assistant/orderly is shown staring intensely. Dorota interrupts a doctors' meeting to remind the doctor that she is going to have an abortion in one hour. He tells her not to go ahead with it, because Andrzej is apparently dying, with
metastases Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spreading from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, ...
growing, and has no chance of surviving. She makes him swear by this prognosis, which he does and walks out. He tells her that he wants to listen to her in the Philharmonic one day. In a typically "''Kieślowskiesque''" scene, Andrzej opens his eyes for the first time and observes how a bee
miraculously A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
manages to climb on a spoon out of a glass with the preserved
strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...
in it. Andrzej gets up at night and knocks at the doctor's office door to awaken the sleeping doctor. The doctor asks him to take a seat. Andrzej says that he has come back from the " ''beyond''" where everything looked like it was decaying and that he is back now, happy to be able to touch a table, and to have a baby with Dorota. He asks the doctor if he understands what it means to have a child, to which the doctor replies, 'I do'.http://www.facets.org/decalogue/synopsis.html Episode synopsis


Theme

The second commandment is about sanctity of speech, where names are fundamental to identity and moral choice, and the importance of one's word in human life. It is notable that the doctor's name is never revealed in the episode. Other moral or ethical dilemmas of the characters in this film are murder and punishment, and the nature and relation of love and passion.


Cast

*
Krystyna Janda Krystyna Jolanta Janda (; born 18 December 1952) is a Polish film and theatre actress, director, and singer. She is best known internationally for playing leading roles in several films by Polish film director Andrzej Wajda, including '' Man of ...
- Dorota *
Aleksander Bardini Aleksander Bardini (17 November 1913 – 30 July 1995) was a Polish theatre and opera director, actor, notable professor at the State Theatre School in Warsaw. He appeared in 30 films between 1937 and 1994. Selected filmography * '' Long Is the ...
- the doctor *
Olgierd Łukaszewicz Olgierd Łukaszewicz (born 7 September 1946) is a Polish film actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films since his 1969 graduation from the Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts in Kraków. Between 2002 and 2005, he was the President o ...
- Andrzej *
Artur Barciś Artur Barciś (; born 12 August 1956) is a Polish actor and film director. His television appearances include Krzysztof Kieślowski's anthology series ''Dekalog'' (1989), the soap opera '' Aby do świtu...'' (1992), and '' Kurierzy'' ("Couriers" ...
- laboratory assistant/hospital orderly * Stanisław Gawlik - postman Wacek * Krzysztof Kumor - gynaecologist * Krystyna Bigelmajer - nurse * Karol Dillenius - patient in Andrzej's hospital room *
Jerzy Fedorowicz Jerzy Feliks Fedorowicz (born 29 October 1947 in Polanica Zdrój) is a Polish people, Polish actor, theatre director, poet, politician, a former member of the Sejm (2005–2009), and member of the Senate (2015–). After graduating from the Acade ...
- Janek, friend of Andrzej Actors from other episodes playing different roles: * Krystyna Bigelmajer * Ewa Ekwinska * Piotr Siejka * Aleksander Trąbczyński


Adaptations

The 2009
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
film '' Dwando'' directed by Suman Ghosh is based on this film, with
Ananya Chatterjee Ananya Chatterjee is an Indian actress who works in Bengali films. Known for her role in '' Abahoman'' which won her a National Award. She started her career as a TV actress. She acted in several TV serials and films, including three directe ...
playing the wife,
Kaushik Sen Koushik Sen (born 19 September 1968) is an Indian actor in film, television, OTT and theatre, based in Kolkata. He is the founder and director of the theatre group Swapnasandhani. He won the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for best ...
playing the husband, and
Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; ; 19 January 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the histor ...
playing the doctor.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dekalog 02 1988 films Films about adultery Films about abortion Films directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski Films scored by Zbigniew Preisner Medical-themed films 1980s Polish-language films Films with screenplays by Krzysztof Piesiewicz Films with screenplays by Krzysztof Kieślowski Films set in Warsaw